Henrik J. Krebs

Henrik Johannes Krebs[1] (June 27, 1847 – October 7, 1929), sometimes called Henry J. Krebs, was an American immigrant from Denmark who started the Krebs Pigments and Chemical Company to manufacture the pigment lithopone.[2][3][4]

Henrik Johannes Krebs
Born(1847-06-27)June 27, 1847
Lolland, Denmark
DiedOctober 7, 1929(1929-10-07) (aged 82)
Other namesHenry J. Krebs
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Ebba Victoria Kruse

Biography

Krebs was born on June 27, 1847, in Lolland, Denmark, to Hans Peter Tholstrup Krebs and Johanne Louise (Wichfled) Krebs.[2][5][6] He emigrated to the United States in 1879.[7]

He soon became the superintendent of the Delaware Sugar Beet Factory, associated with Alfred D. Wagner.[8] Krebs later joined Pusey & Jones Co. and built the first ice plant in Wilmington, Delaware.[9]

In 1886, Krebs, Wagner, and William G. Pennypacker founded the Delaware Chemical Company to produce anhydrous ammonia, which later became the National Ammonia Company.[9]

Around 1902, he formed the Krebs Pigments and Chemical Company. In 1908, he built a new plant in Newport, Delaware.[2][10]

Krebs retired from Krebs Pigments and Chemical Company in 1921, when his son, August Sonin Krebs, took over as president.[11]

In 1926, Krebs supplied $150,000 to Newport, Delaware, for the construction of a school to be named after him, on the occasion of his 50th wedding anniversary[12][13] The school opened in September 1927.[14]

For services to the Royal Polytechnic College in Copenhagen, the King of Denmark appointed Krebs Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog.[9]

Krebs died on October 7, 1929, after a long illness.[2][7][9] After his death, his company was purchased by DuPont.[2][11]

Personal

On June 24, 1876, he married Ebba Victoria Kruse. At his death, he was survived by his wife and two children, August Sonnin, and Johanna Louise.[9]

See also

References
  1. Family tree, citation of descendant Charlotte Stuart.
  2. "Joseph Tatnall House" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved October 25, 2011. Henrik J. Krebs died October 7, 1929, aged 82 ...
  3. Munroe, John A. (1979). History of Delaware. Newark: University of Delaware Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0874131277. The latter company was founded in Delaware by a Danish immigrant, Henrik J. Krebs. Its factories at Newport and Edge Moor are now (1978) the only Du Pont ...
  4. Database (February 2014). "E. I. DuPont De Nemours Site". Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved June 17, 2015. From 1902 to 1929, Henrik Krebs built the plant and used it to manufacture a white zinc and barium-based pigment called Lithopone.
  5. Derby, George (1967). The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography – Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women Who Are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time. New York City: James T. White & Co.. pp. 14–15. OCLC 39793650.
  6. "Henry J. Krebs passport application from June 26, 1913". United States Department of State. Name: Henry J. Krebs. Birth: 27 June 1847 – Denmark. Date: 26 June 1913. Residence: Wilmington, Delaware Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering, Volume 36". p. 639. (1929).
  8. "Superintendents of Beet Sugar Factories". The Sugar Beet. p. 11. February 1881. OCLC 6063550.
  9. (October 8, 1929). H.J. "Krebs, Engineer, Dies at the Age of 82; Founder of Chemical Concern That Became the National Ammonia Company". The New York Times.
  10. "Newport, Delaware". Newport, Delaware. Retrieved October 24, 2011. Newport participated in the State's burgeoning chemical industry when, in 1908, Henrik J. Krebs built a chemical and pigment plant along Christiana Creek.
  11. (October 13, 1929). "Obituary – Krebs", Delmarvia Star.
  12. Robert J. Taggart (1988). Private Philanthropy and Public Education – Pierre S. Du Pont and the Delaware Schools, 1890–1940. Newark: University of Delaware Press; London: Associated University Presses. p. 209. ISBN 978-0874133189. Retrieved October 24, 2011. Also, industrialist Henrik J. Krebs provided a substantial gift of $150000 to construct the eight- classroom school in Newport named after him. ...
  13. "HJ Krebs to Build Public School in Commemoration of His Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary". The American-Scandinavian Review. Volume 14. 1926.
  14. (September 4, 1927). "New H.J. Krebs School to Open on Tuesday". The Sunday Morning Star
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