Richard With

Richard Bernhard With (18 September 1846 – 9 February 1930) was a Norwegian ship captain, businessman and politician for the Liberal Left Party. He is known as the founder of Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab and Hurtigruten.

Richard Bernhard With was born in Tromsø as a son of shipmaster Sivert Regnor With and his wife Anne Bergitte Dahl. Being of Dutch descent, his father was a pioneer in shipping in Tromsøe. With took the mate's examination in Trondhjem in 1864, and then spent eight years at sea. In 1873 he settled in Risøyhamn as a merchant. In September the same year he married Oline Sophie Wennberg in nearby Andenes. They had the child Nanna With in 1874, but his wife died in November 1878. In 1879 he married her sister Augusta Septimia Wennberg (1847–1938).

Richard With realized a growing transportation need in the region, particularly due to the widespread herring fishing, and was the driving force in the creation of Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab in 1881. The first two years, he was even the captain of the company's SS Vesteraalen. Two new ships were acquired in the 1880s; SS Lofoten was built and SS Fiskeren was bought. Trade routes were set up between Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja in the north and Bergen in the south. In 1891 With took up the idea of establishing a year-round passenger route along the coast of Norway. In 1893 the Parliament of Norway agreed to the government's proposal of funding the route—Hurtigruten—with 70,000 kr. The route Trondheim–Hammerfest (in the summer: Trondheim–Tromsø) would be sailed weekly, and Vesteraalen was the first ship to sail on 2 July 1893. In 1894 With retired as a shipmaster and instead became CEO of Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab. He remained here until 1909. From 1896 Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab used SS Lofoten for a passenger route between Hammerfest and Adventfjorden. The shipmaster was renowned polar explorer Otto Sverdrup, and the route propelled growth of a modern society in the Svalbard archipelago. In 1908 With became involved in the work to create the Norwegian America Line. At its establishment in 1910 he served as deputy chairman of the board.

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