{{short description|Norwegian businessman}} [[File:Christopher Blom Paus (1810-1898).jpeg|thumb|Christopher Blom Paus]] '''Christopher Blom Paus''' (8 October 1810 – 28 October 1898) was a Norwegian [[shipowner]], [[merchant]] and banker.
==Biography== Paus was born at the estate Rising Nordre in [[Gjerpen]], Norway. Born into the [[patriciate of Norway|patriciate]] of the port town of [[Skien (town)|Skien]], he was the son of shipowner [[Ole Paus (shipowner)|Ole Paus]] and Johanne Plesner (formerly married Ibsen). He was the uncle of playwright [[Henrik Ibsen]], as he was both the half brother of Ibsen's father [[Knud Ibsen]] and the first cousin of Ibsen's mother [[Marichen Altenburg]]. He was the brother of judge, [[Telemark|Bratsberg]] governor and Member of Parliament [[Christian Cornelius Paus]] and lawyer Henrik Johan Paus. Christopher Blom Paus owned the house at Snipetorp where the Ibsen family lived from the time of Henrik Ibsen's [[confirmation]] in 1843 to 1865.<ref>J. Borchsenius, ''Skien før branden 1886'', Fabritius & Sønners Forlag, Oslo, 1934</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.ibsen.uio.no/REGINFO_peKPI.xhtml |title= Knud Plesner Ibsen|website= Henrik Ibsens skrifter |access-date=October 1, 2020}} </ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.ibsen.uio.no/REGINFO_peMI.xhtml|title= Marichen Cornelia Martine F. Altenburg|website= Henrik Ibsens skrifter |access-date=October 1, 2020}} </ref>
Paus started as a wholesaler and eventually concentrated mainly on shipping business. He entered his business career as a clerk in his brother's trading shop. Paus worked from the late 1820s until 1836 for merchant Christopher Hansen Blom in the Blom trading house. In the 1860s he invested heavily in shipping and entered the emigrant trade with runs between Trondheim, Québec and Newcastle. He later became one of Skien's leading shipowner and one of the leader businessman. He was a city councilor in Skien for several years and held other public offices. In addition to being a ship-owner, he was administrative director of the savings bank, ''Skiens Sparebank'' 1874–1887. He was a member of the city council in Skien for several years and held a number of other public positions.<ref name="Østvedt">[[Einar Østvedt]], ''Skiens historie: Fra 1870 til ca. 1925'', Skien Municipality/Erik St. Nilssen, 1959, pp. 358–359</ref>
==Personal life== Christopher Blom Paus was married in 1845 to Erasmine Ernst (1817–1914) He was the father of factory owner [[Ole Paus (factory owner)|Ole Paus]]. His grandson Herman Paus married Countess Tatyana [[Tolstoy]], a granddaughter of [[Leo Tolstoy]]. Their descendants own [[Herresta]] and other Swedish estates. He was also the great-grandfather of General [[Ole Paus (general)|Ole Paus]] and the great-great-grandfather of singer [[Ole Paus]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://herresta.se/ |title= Herresta Säteri|website= Herresta Godsförvaltning|access-date=October 1, 2020}} </ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.snl.no/Ole_Paus |title= Ole Paus|website= Store norske leksikon |access-date=October 1, 2020}} </ref> Christopher Blom Paus died at Oslo and was buried at [[Vår Frelsers gravlund]].
==References== {{reflist}} ==Other sources== * Arvid Høgvoll; Ruth Bærland (1996) ''Henrik Ibsen: Herregårder, kammerherrer, godseiere og proprietærer: brokker av en slektshistorie'' (Nome antikvariat) {{ISBN|8291739005}}
{{Paus family}} {{Henrik Ibsen's family}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paus, Christopher Blom}} [[Category:1810 births]] [[Category:1898 deaths]] [[Category:People from Telemark]] [[Category:People from Skien Municipality]] [[Category:Norwegian merchants]] [[Category:Norwegian businesspeople in shipping]] [[Category:Norwegian bankers]] [[Category:Paus family|Christopher Blom]] [[Category:Burials at the Cemetery of Our Saviour]] [[Category:19th-century Norwegian businesspeople]]