Sam Eyde
Encyclopedia
Samuel Eyde was a Norwegian
engineer
and industrialist, the founder of Norsk Hydro
and Elkem
.
where he graduated in 1891. He started his career in Hamburg
, working with the railways where he planned new lines, bridges and stations. In 1897 he started his own business, Gleim & Eyde with his previous boss from Hamburg
. He soon established offices in Kristiania (Oslo today) and Stockholm
, and by the turn of the century his firm was one of the largest in Scandinavia
, with some 30 engineers.
Eyde and Kristian Birkeland
met at a dinner party in 1903; Birkeland was working on developing an electric arc
, while Eyde had recently bought the rights to several waterfalls in Telemark. They agreed to cooperate to develop an electric flame. This allowed Eyde to establish Det Norske Aktieselskab for Eletrokemisk Industri
(today Elkem
) along with the Wallenberg family
who he had met in Sweden; the factory at Notodden
opening on May 2, 1905. The same year he founded Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab
(now Norsk Hydro
). Eyde remained director of both companies.
He was CEO of Norsk Hydro until 1917, when he had to resign after the general meeting had asked him to leave. He was offered a position on the board, where he remained until 1925, and a compensation of NOK 250,000 for ten years, and NOK 100,000 for the rest of his life. In 1920, Eyde was appointed the Norwegian Minister to the United States
.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
engineer
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and industrialist, the founder of Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
and Elkem
Elkem
Elkem is one of Norway's largest industrial companies, and one of the world's leading suppliers of metals and materials. The company's main products are aluminium, energy and silicon as well as specialised products such as ferrosilicon to foundries, microsilica and carbon...
.
Biography
Sam Eyde was the son of a shipowner, and studied engineering in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
where he graduated in 1891. He started his career in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, working with the railways where he planned new lines, bridges and stations. In 1897 he started his own business, Gleim & Eyde with his previous boss from Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. He soon established offices in Kristiania (Oslo today) and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, and by the turn of the century his firm was one of the largest in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, with some 30 engineers.
Eyde and Kristian Birkeland
Kristian Birkeland
Kristian Olaf Birkeland was a Norwegian scientist. He is best remembered as the person who first elucidated the nature of the Aurora borealis. In order to fund his research on the aurorae, he invented the electromagnetic cannon and the Birkeland-Eyde process of fixing nitrogen from the air...
met at a dinner party in 1903; Birkeland was working on developing an electric arc
Electric arc
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air. A synonym is arc discharge. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge, and relies on...
, while Eyde had recently bought the rights to several waterfalls in Telemark. They agreed to cooperate to develop an electric flame. This allowed Eyde to establish Det Norske Aktieselskab for Eletrokemisk Industri
Elkem
Elkem is one of Norway's largest industrial companies, and one of the world's leading suppliers of metals and materials. The company's main products are aluminium, energy and silicon as well as specialised products such as ferrosilicon to foundries, microsilica and carbon...
(today Elkem
Elkem
Elkem is one of Norway's largest industrial companies, and one of the world's leading suppliers of metals and materials. The company's main products are aluminium, energy and silicon as well as specialised products such as ferrosilicon to foundries, microsilica and carbon...
) along with the Wallenberg family
Wallenberg family
The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish banking family, renowned as bankers, industrialists, politicians, diplomats and philanthropists. The most famous of the Wallenbergs, Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust...
who he had met in Sweden; the factory at Notodden
Notodden
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden....
opening on May 2, 1905. The same year he founded Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
(now Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
). Eyde remained director of both companies.
He was CEO of Norsk Hydro until 1917, when he had to resign after the general meeting had asked him to leave. He was offered a position on the board, where he remained until 1925, and a compensation of NOK 250,000 for ten years, and NOK 100,000 for the rest of his life. In 1920, Eyde was appointed the Norwegian Minister to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.