Jonas Lied
Jonas Marius Lied (17 July 1881 in
Sølsnes,
Veøy – 25 April 1969 at Sølsnes,
Molde) was a Norwegian entrepreneur, businessman, diplomat, author and art collector. He obtained a short vocational business education and was proficient in
English,
French,
German and
Russian. Lied was also a noted athlete, for instance in 1906 together with
Erik Ole Bye he won the Lyle Cup for
double sculls. He established
The Siberian Steamship, Manufacturing & Trading Company (the Siberian Company; Norwegian: ''Det siberiske kompani'') in 1912 with the purpose of importing and exporting goods through a new northern shipping lane and the
Ob River and
Yenisei River. He obtained Russian citizenship with the help of
Grand Duke Alexander, but regained Norwegian citizenship in 1931 when he left the difficult times in the Soviet Union. According to the Russian tradition, he long used the signature "I.G. Lid" (Jonas Hansson Lied) after his father Hans ("Gans" in Russian).
The first expedition through the
Kara Sea was completed in 1913 with explorer
Fridtjof Nansen and Siberian industrialist
Stephan Vostrotin as prominent passengers. The journey was a great success and the international press reported from the trip. Both Nansen and Lied gave several lectures. Lied lectured in Russian in St. Petersburg, in French at the
Société Nautique, and in German at the geographical society in Hamburg. Nansen published a ''Through Siberia''.
In 1914, Lied photographed British naval vessels in the port of Newcastle and was for this arrested according to the
Defence of the Realm Act 1914. According to his autobiography, he wired Secretary of Trade
Walter Runciman for help, and the charges were dropped.
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