Jonas Collin
{{Short description|Danish civil servant}}
{{expand Danish|date=June 2023|topic=bio}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Jonas Collin
|image = Jonas Collin by Constantin Hansen.jpg
|alt=
|caption = Collin painted by Constantin Hansen, 1751
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1776|1|6}}
|birth_place = Copenhagen, Denmark
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1861|8|28|1776|1|6}}
|death_place = Copenhagen, Denmark
|resting_place =
|spouse =
|citizenship =
|alma_mater =
|nationality = Danish
|known_for = Hans Christian Andersen associations
|occupation = Civil servant
|awards = Grand cross of the Dannebrog, 1840
|signature =
|footnotes =
}}
Jonas Collin (6 January 1776 – 28 August 1861) was a Danish civil servant and patron of the arts. He took care of Hans Christian Andersen when the later writer first arrived in Copenhagen as a child and remained his loyal friend and supporter for the remainder of his life. He was also involved in the foundation of the Thorvaldsen Museum.
Early life and education
Collin was born in Copenhagen, the son of director of the Royal Danish Class Lottery Niels Collin (1736–1797) and Ingeborg Bolten (1735–1817). He grew up in the Collin House in Bredgade. He was taught at home, first by his parents and then by private teachers, including Christopher Frimann Omsen and the priest Michael Gottlieb Birckner. He studied law at the University of Copenhagen, graduating in 1795.{{cite web|url=https://biografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Jonas_Collin_-_finansdeputeret|title=Jonas Collin|language=Danish|publisher=Dansk Biografisk Leksikon|accessdate=8 August 2020}}
Career
Collin's first job was in his father's office. This left him with enough time to study foreign languages and follow lectures on philosophy, mathematics and physics at the university. In 1800, he passed the examination in surveying. He was a member of Drejer's Club where many of the leading writers of the time met and was himself a contributor to Knud Lyne Rahbek's Minerva and other journals. Collin left the Class Lottery when his father died. His contacts among high-ranking civil servants got him a position as a volunteer in the Treasury ({{Lang|da|Rentekammeret}}) where he mainly worked in the agriculture departments. In 1801, he was first appointed as copyist and then clerk. In 1807, he was appointed as bank commissioner and in 1812 as Assessor in {{Lang|da|Finanskollegiet|italic=no}} and in 1816 as a finance deputy ({{Lang|da|deputeret for finanserne}}). He worked first under Ernst Schimmelmann and then Johan Sigismund von Møsting.
From early in his career, Collin had thoughts about a fundamental reorganization of the central administration. In 1815 he anonymously published as short article in Minerva in which he mocked the indolent and incompetent civil servants who only thought of their work as long as they were in their offices instead of "bringing it along wherever they go, going to bed with it at night and getting up with it in the morning". In the same articles, he proposed placing the responsibility for the government's spending and income in a single department. On several occasions, he in vain personally presented the same idea to Møsting. He was a member of the important finance commission which was established in 1836 under the leadership of Adam Wilhelm Moltke. He was a member of the Treasury from 1831–1840. Collin retired in December 1848.
Collin and H. Bech founded {{Lang|da|Sparekassen for Kjøbenhavn og Omegn|italic=no}} in 1820. He worked for the establishment of a public bathing facility at Rysensteen Bastion and the Rosenborg Brøndanstalt day spa and mineral water factory in Rosenborg Castle Garden.
Collin was a member of {{Lang|da|Landhusholdningsselskabet|italic=no}} from 1805 and served as president of the association from 1809–1855.
Culture
Collin was secretary for the {{Interlanguage link|Fonden ad usus publicos|lt=Foundation ad usus publicos|da|Fonden ad usus publicos}} from 1803 to 1833. This brought him in contact with most of the leading cultural figures of the time.
In 1821, in response to the so-called Mythological Dispute, he fostered the idea of a competition for artwork inspired by Norse mythology. He was a co-founder of Athenæum and {{Interlanguage link|Selskabet til naturlærens udbredelse|da}}. In 1841, he became an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts.
Personal life
File:Jonas Collin (Harald Conradsen).jpg from 1950.]]
Collin married Henriette Christine Birckner, née Hornemann, (c. 26 November 1772 – 21 May 1845) on 13 November 1803 in Ledøje Church. She had previously been married to Michael Gottlieb Birckner, Collin's former teacher. They had daughters Louise Collin (married Lind) and Ingeborg Collin (married Drewsen) and sons Edvard Collin, Gottlieb Collin and Theodor Collin.{{cite web|url=http://www.visithcandersen.dk/jonas_collin.htm|title=Jonas Collin (1776 - 1861)|language=Danish|website=visithcandersen.dk|accessdate=8 August 2020}}
He died on 28 August 1861 and is buried in Frederiksberg Old Cemetery.{{cite web|url=https://www.gravsted.dk/person.php?navn=jonascollin|title=Jonas Collin |language=Danish|website=gravsted.dk|accessdate=8 August 2020}}
Awards
Collin became a Knight in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1813, received the Cross of Honour in 1826, became a Commander in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1836 and received the Grand Cross in 1849.
Cultural references
Jonas Collin (Lars Brygmann) is depicted in the 2005 DR television series Unge Andersen. The couple had five children.
Written works
Collin published {{Lang|da|For Historie og Statistik især Fædrelandet}} in 1822–1825.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Jonas Collin}}
- [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hans-Christian-Andersen-Danish-author#ref21146 Source]
{{Danish Golden Age}}
{{Gottlieb Bindesbøll}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collin, Jonas}}
Category:Danish civil servants
Category:Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog