Lauritzen Fonden - 1859

Ditlev Lauritzen born
Ditlev Lauritzen, founder of the shipping companies “Dampskibsselskabet Vesterhavet” and J. Lauritzen, is born in 1859 in Ribe, Denmark. The eldest son of Jørgen Lauritzen, a timber merchant, contractor and shipowner, he trains in his father’s business and in1884 sets up a timber merchant firm in Esbjerg in his father’s name: J. Lauritzen’s Timber Trade.
Ditlev Lauritzen soon becomes one of Esbjerg’s most dynamic businessmen, establishing a large number of trading and manufacturing companies in the following years.

1st steamer purchased
Ditlev Lauritzen spots new opportunities in shipping and acquires his first steamship, Uganda, in 1888.

“Dampskibsselskabet Vesterhavet” established
In 1893 Ditlev Lauritzen is appointed French Consul and gets the nickname “Konsulen.” He begins concentrating seriously on shipping activities and establishes the shipping company “Dampskibsselskabet Vesterhavet” in 1895.

Philanthropic activity begins early
The areas that the Lauritzen Foundation supports are chosen on the basis of longstanding traditions in the family firm. Ditlev Lauritzen had been involved in philanthropic activities from an early age. In 1901 he establishes “Esbjerg Bombebøsse” to support seamen and their widows and orphans.