AshehougAgency

Svend Foyn - Whale Catcher and Nation Builder

The sailor and hunter Svend Foyn (1809-1894) from Tønsberg was the richest and most famous person in Norway in his day. Today he is all but forgotten. The reason is partly that Foyn invented the grenade harpoon and developed a hunting system that made catching the large fin whales and blue whales feasible.

For the economy and development of the Norwegian economy, Foyn’s life work was of immense importance, but his legacy is today highly controversial. In this first biography of Svend Foyn, Alf R. Jacobsen portrays his adventurous life – first as a sailor and ship captain in the difficult years after the end of the Napoleonic wars, then as a hunter in the Arctic Sea, and finally as a pioneer of hunting methods, successful businessman and nation builder.

Praise for SVEND FOYN:

“a vivid and glowing biography which at times reads like a thriller … the harpoon hits right on target”
(Aftenposten)

First published: 2008, Aschehoug Non-Fiction
Alf R. Jacobsen: Biography and bibliography