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Name: THAMS, Christian Marcus
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:
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.