Christian Waagepetersen

Christian Waagepetersen (6 September 1787 - 23 November 1840) was a Danish wine merchant and patron of the arts. The Waagepetersen House, his home in Store Strandstræde in Copenhagen, was a meetingplace for many leading fugures of the Danish Golden Age in the 1820s and 1830s. The building is now listed.
He was born Christian Waage Petersen but changed his name to Waage Petersen on 4 March 1831.

Early life and education

Christian Waage Petersen was born in Copenhagen in 1787, the son of Lorentz Boje Petersen (1764-1829) and his wife Sophie Magdalene Worm (1765-1832). His father worked for a Councilman named Waage but later estalbihsed as a wine merchant. Waage Petersen was taught the trade by his father and also studied abroad.

On 18 November 1809 he married Albertine Emmerentse Schmidt (13 October 1793 /ndash; 15 November 1864) in the Vhurch of Holmen. She was the daughter of the wealthy merchant Albrecht Ludvig Schmidt (c. 1754-1821) and his wife Frederikke Christiane Restorff (c. 1759-1822).

Career

Waagepetersen established his own business in 1808. It grew rapidly and eventurally became the leading wine dealer in the city. The company was from 1811 based in his property at Store Strandstræde 18 where he also had his home. In 1827, he was appointed to royal wine merchant.

Public offices

From 1808 to 1816, Waagepetersen was superintendentof the city's poorhouses (fattigforstander). From 1824 until 1835, he was a member of the Council of 32 Men.

Patron of the arts and sciences

Waagepetersen had a passopn for the arts and sciences. When the College of Advanced Technology was founded, he donated a fully equipped, chemical laboratory.His was, however, particularly fond of music as witness by the fact that he named three of his sons after Heyden, Mozart and Bethoven.