Theodor Wilhelm Wessel was a Danish businessman. He is remembered as one of the two founders of the Magasin du Nord chain of department stores.
Occupation
merchant
Citizenship
Kingdom of Denmark
Born
February 27, 1842
Died
July 31, 1905
Overview
Theodor Wilhelm Wessel (27 February 1842 – 31 July 1905) was a Danish businessman. He is remembered as one of the two founders of the Magasin du Nord chain of department stores.
Early life and education
Wessel was born on 27 February 1842 in Odense, the elder of two sons of customs assistant Herman Hinrich Wessel (1802–78) and Wilhelmine Rasmussen (1810–1865). His father's family had originally come to Denmark from Vremen and was thus unrelated to the other Danish Werssel family originating in Norway (cf. Peter Wessel, Johan Herman Wessel). Aged 14 Wessel was apprenticed to L. J. Baagøe, who operated a substantial linnen and drapery business in association with a grocery shop in Svendborg.
Wessel's younger brother Peter (Pedro) Wessel (27 September 1851 – 8 February 1921) emigrated to Chile in 1876, where he established his own trading house in Caracoles.
Career
