Christian Bjelland I

Christian Bjelland was born in 1858 in the Norwegian city of Stavanger and died in 1927. Christian Bjelland is the name that most people in Norway would associate with Stavanger as well as the canning industry. He was the founder of Chr. Bjelland & Co A/S, Norway's largest canned goods producer and amongst the largest in Scandinavia.

The company was most famous for its sardines in particular the King Oscar brand for which Christian Bjelland received royal permission to use the image of Oscar II of Sweden on the sardine tins. The King Oscar brand became well known world wide and is still popular in the U.S.A. as well as Australia.

Christian Bjelland was one of the great industrialist of his time and in 1907 was made a Knight, 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav for his contribution to building Norwegian industry.

The company remained involved in the canning industry until 1983 when Christian Bjelland's great grandson Christian Bjelland sold this section of the company to Norway Foods Ltd.

Bjelland sardines have been an important part of Norwegian culture throughout the 19th and 20th century. The company slogans and advertising are still remembered by many Norwegians to this day. These include the company logo known as the "The Man with the Fish" painted by Theodor Kittelsen, and the slogan "Ikke noe snikk-snakk, Bjellands hermetikk, takk", which translates into "No chit-chat, Bjellands canned goods, thanks".

Persondata
Name	Bjelland, Christian, I
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Date of birth	1858
Place of birth
Date of death	1927
Place of death