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Name: THAMS, Christian Marcus

image of individual

Birth Date: 9 Sep 1867 Trondheim, Norway

Death Date: 22 May 1948 Ville d'Avray, Seine-Oise, France

Nationality: Norwegian

First Date: 1930

Profession: Diplomat, architect, industrialist

Area: Box 557, Nairobi

Married: 1. In Vevey, Switzerland 25 Aug 1886 Sarah Sybille Françoise Antoinette Eléonore de Spengler b. 19 Apr 1868 Breukelen-Nijenrode, Netherlands, d. 27 July 1920 Menton, France; 2. In Ile de France, Paris 1 Mar 1921 Mathilde 'Matty' Fredrikke Christiansen b. 5 May 1883, d. 3 Sep 1945 Oslo

Children: 1. Emily Ida Eléonora Nore de Spengler (7 June 1888 France-14 Sep 1931)

Book Reference: Red 31

General Information:

Gazette 12 June 1951 probate
Nat Probate Calendar
Gazette 1 Jan 1952 has probate for a Mathilde Thams
Gazette 12 Jan 1951 probate for a Christian Marius Thams reqd by Inger Thams
There was a Charles Thams, Muthaiga, in Kenya in 1914 - Gazette 30 Sep 1914, Sportsman's licence
Wikipedia: Christian Marius Thams was born in TrondheimSør-TrøndelagNorway. His parents were Marentius Thams (1836-1907) and Emilie Christine Ullitz (1838-1916). He was educated at a school for boys in GrenchenSwitzerland and at a technical school in HolzmindenGermany. Christian Thams studied at Technikum Winterthur in Zurich, Switzerland, where he graduated in 1886. The following year, he established himself as an architect with practice in Nice and Paris. The foundation of the family fortune was Örkedals Mining Company. His grandfather Wilhelm August Thams (1812-1884), together with Norwegian businessman Christian Salvesen, had started Ørkedalens Mining in Meldal in 1867. The acquisition of the Løkken Mine in 1896 marked their dominant position with control of all mines in the region.

 

In 1904 Christian Thams founded Orkla Grube-Aktiebolag whose main activity was mining at Løkken Verk. Thams soon realized that extended access to electricity would be of great benefit to his businesses. He therefore decided to build a hydro electric plant, and got a concession to build at Skjenaldfossen waterfall, following his acquisition in 1899 of the rights to utilize the power from the river. This marked the beginning of large-scale production at the mine and an important milestone in the history of the Norwegian industrial conglomerate Orkla. Christian Thams is also known for construction of Thamshavnbanen, the first electric railroad in Norway, visited by Norwegian King Haakon VII at its opening on July 10, 1908.[6]

Among Thams' other activities was Strandheim Brug, a sawmill and prefabrication of houses business. This production was also powered by hydroelectricity. The successful industrialization of the activities in Orkdal coincided with other key entrepreneurial ventures of that time (1890 to 1910) that were all based on the new technology of hydroelectricity. 

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