Constantin Brun
| Johan Christian Constantin Brun | |
|---|---|
Constantin Brun, portray by Jean-Laurent Mosnier (1808)
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| Born |
27 November 1746 , Mecklenburg |
| Died | 19 February 1835 (aged 88) Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Nationality | German-Danish |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for |
Danish West India Company Sophienholm |
| Spouse(s) | Friederike Brun |
| Awards | Grand Cross of the Dannebrog |
Johan Christian Constantin Brun (27 November 1746 – 19 February 1836) was a German-Danish merchant. Born in Germany, came to Denmark as Royal administrator of the trade on the Danish West Indies and in the same time built a successful private trading empire during the early Napoleonic Wars of the late 18th century, profiting on Denmark's neutrality.
At the time of his death in 1836, Brun was one of the wealthiest persons in Denmark, leaving an estate of more than 2 million Rigsdaler. He was married to Friederike Brun, a writer and prominent salonist during the Danish Golden Age.
Constantin Brun was born into a poor family on 27 November 1746 in . He moved to Lübeck to Apprentice in Pauli, one of the local trading houses, and after showing a remarkable talent for business, his employer set him up, along with his own son, with a business in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
On 16 October 1777, Brun received an appointment as Danish Consul and this brought him to Copenhagen. There he met his future wife, Friederike, for the first time when he visited her father, Balthasar Münter, who was a priest at the St. Peter's Church, Copenhagen. He was immediately struck by the young girl, and in the winter of 1782/83 he returned to Copenhagen.
The Danish Government had become aware of his eminent talent for business and, presumably at Count von Schimmelmann's initiative, offered him a position as royal administrator of the trade on the Danish West Indies. Brun accepted, settled in Copenhagen and proposed to Friederikke Münter, who accepted, later that same year. Under Brun, Danish trade on the West Indies passed over from the Danish West India Company to the state. During the following decades, the trade flourished, assisted by Denmark's neutrality in the European wars which raged at the time.
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