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Charles Wilhelm Thesen (14 November 1856 – 1 February 1940) was a Norwegian-born shipowner and timber merchant who played a leading role in the public affairs of the South African town of Knysna. He was actively involved in the timber and shipbuilding industry of the region, and acquired Paarden Island in the Knysna Lagoon, on which he built a sawmill and shipyard. The island was later renamed Thesen Island, after him and his family. ==Biography== Charles was born in Stavanger, the fifth son of Arndt Leonard Thesen (26 October 1816 – 24 June 1875), a wealthy and respected man in the town. The German-Danish War of 1864–67 caused a downturn in trade and shipping, and in 1868 caused the collapse of several companies in Stavanger, among which was ''A.L. Thesen & Co.'' Arndt, together with his wife, Anne Cathrine Margreta Brandt, seven sons, two daughters, his brother Mathias Theodore Thesen (26 October 1813 – 18 June 1884), and his son, Hans Adolf (17 October 1843 – 5 March 1909), and a crew of seven, left Norway for New Zealand on 14 August 1869 in his 117-ton schooner, ''Albatros''. The ship was loaded with timber to be sold on their arrival. They reached Cape Town on 16 November 1869 and after a week's stay for repairs and provisioning, the voyage to New Zealand was resumed. Storms at the Cape forced them to put about and return to Table Bay. In Cape Town, the Swedish-Norwegian consul, Carl Gustaf Åkerberg, told the Thesens about the shortage of cargo ships plying the South African coast. The plan to sail to New Zealand was at first postponed and later set aside.〔http://www.houseboats.co.za/newsletter/〕 After several coastal cargo voyages, the Thesen family settled in Knysna. They started with shipping timber, a business they knew well from Norway, but soon ventured into saw-milling and acquiring forested land. From February 1872 Charles worked as a clerk for ''William Anderson & Co'' in Port Elizabeth, but on his father's death in 1875, he joined and managed the family firm, adding new vessels to their fleet, buying more land and trying oyster farming. They also diversified into hardware stores, supermarkets, whaling, gold prospecting and mining, railway construction and road transport. Thesen did not forget his Norwegian roots and commissioned his freight ships such as "Outeniqua" in 1915 from "Porsgrund Mekaniske Værksted" in Porsgrund.〔http://www.global.uni.no/colonialism/projects/eidsvik.htm〕〔http://ancestry24.com/charles-wilhelm-thesen/〕 He married Eliza Bessie Georgiana Harison (5 March 1863 – 6 August 1901), daughter of the first conservator of forests, Christopher Harison, an opportune joining of the two families. They produced ten children, 5 sons and 3 daughters surviving. After Bessie's death of pregnancy complications in 1901, he married Lucia Johanna Christine Thesen (1875–1963), the daughter of his cousin Hans Adolf, and she bore one son and two daughters. Charles was active in local politics, serving on the divisional and municipal councils, filling the offices of mayor, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Cape Provincial Council. In 1904 he bought Paarden Island, part of the Melkhoutkraal Estate of George Rex. Here the Thesens processed cut timber from 1922 and the island later became known as Thesen Island.〔http://www.knysna-holidays.com/knysnaHistory.php〕 Charles died in Knysna, aged 83. One of Charles' sisters, Blanka Thesen, married Francis William Reitz, president of the Orange Free State. Charles's other brothers were Hjalmar (14 February 1846 – 1923), Rolf (9 August 1850 – 18 October 1883), Ragnvald (9 August 1850 – 8 July 1936) and Nils (24 April 1853 – 23 November 1929). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charles Wilhelm Thesen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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