Lauritz Jenssen

Lauritz Jenssen (25 March 1837 – 7 June 1899) was a Norwegian businessperson and politician. A part of a notable business family based in and around Trondhjem, Jenssen founded Ranheims Papirfabrik, and also served one term in the Parliament of Norway.

He was born in Ranheim as a son of businessman Lauritz Dorenfeldt Jenssen (1801–1859) and his wife Karen Amalie Hagerup (1811–1890). He was a brother-in-law of Jens Jenssen, grandson of businessman Matz Jenssen and nephew of Jens Nicolai and Hans Peter Jenssen. Through his mother he was a first cousin of Prime Minister Francis Hagerup, and nephew of Henrik Steffens Hagerup.

In March 1862 Jenssen married Jørgine Wilhelmine Darre (1842–1910) She was a daughter of Hans Jørgen Darre and hailed from Klæbo. Their sons Hans Jørgen Darre-Jenssen and Worm Hirsch Darre-Jenssen both entered national politics; serving as Minister of Labour in the early twentieth century. Another son Lauritz Jenssen Dorenfeldt was a notable engineer and had a son also named Lauritz Jenssen Dorenfeldt, a notable jurist.

Ranheim, the farm where Lauritz Jenssen was born, had been bought by his father in 1834. He enrolled as a student in 1854, and after graduating in machine engineering from the Polytechnische Schule Karlsruhe in 1860, Lauritz Jenssen returned to Norway. His mother, who, being a widow, had run the farm for one year, but Jenssen became manager in 1860 and owner in 1867. The farm also featured a mill and a rolling mill for copper. The mills were closed in 1897. He instead founded the cellulose factory Ranheim Cellulosefabrik, with construction starting in 1882 and operation in 1884. In 1890–1891 it was reorganized into the paper mill Ranheims Papirfabrik. Jenssen served as its technical director for some years, but the factory struggled financially and it was taken over by Christian Christophersen in 1894. Ranheim farm was not a part of the deal, and Jenssen died there in June 1899.

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