Erik Ohlson
Encyclopedia
Sir Erik Olof Ohlson, 1st Baronet (19 July 1873 – 20 March 1934) was a Swedish
-born British
shipping magnate, coal
and timber
merchant.
Ohlson was a son of a farmer in the village of Oppeby in Fellingsbro
parish, Sweden
. He spent ten years in the coal importing business in Sweden. In 1902, he emigrated to Hull
, England
, and established the firm of Ohlson & Co, shipowners and brokers, coal exporters, and timber importers.
He was knighted
in 1915 and created a Baronet
, of Scarborough, in the 1920 New Year Honours for his efforts to bring Sweden into the British camp during the First World War.
Ohlson was succeeded in the baronetcy by his elder son, Sir Eric James Ohlson (1911–1983).
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
shipping magnate, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
and timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
merchant.
Ohlson was a son of a farmer in the village of Oppeby in Fellingsbro
Fellingsbro
Fellingsbro is a locality and a parish situated in Lindesberg Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden with 1,485 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The parish of Fellingsbro is mentioned already in 1331 as Parochia Fælansbro, but the first parish church was probably built already in the 12th century...
parish, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. He spent ten years in the coal importing business in Sweden. In 1902, he emigrated to Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and established the firm of Ohlson & Co, shipowners and brokers, coal exporters, and timber importers.
He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1915 and created a Baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
, of Scarborough, in the 1920 New Year Honours for his efforts to bring Sweden into the British camp during the First World War.
Ohlson was succeeded in the baronetcy by his elder son, Sir Eric James Ohlson (1911–1983).