Johann Ludvig Zinn (14 September 1734 – 3 February 1802) was a German-Danish merchant who founded a trading house in Copenhagen in 1765 and died as one of the wealthiest men in the city. Zinn lived in the Zinn House at Kvæsthusgade 3 in Copenhagen. His daughter, Sophie Dorothea Zinn, wrote about her father in her memoirs, Grandma's Confessions (Grandmamas Bekjendelser).
Early life and education
Zinn was born in Mainbernheim in Bavaria. His parents were Johann Friederich Zinn and Dorothea Barbara Zinn, née Kreis.[1]
Career and public life
Instigated by Johan Friederich Wewer, Zinn came to Denmark in 1757, where he initially worked for Fabritius & Wewer. He established his own trading house in 1765, and was appointed Royal Agent in 1779.
Zinn served as a commercial specialist judge at Copenhagen's Maritime Court and was a member of the city's Council of 32 Men from 1772 to 1802. He also served as statutory auditor for the Danish Asia Company. In 1789, he was a member of a commission set up to regulate Copenhagen's grain reserves (Provianteringskommission), and was also president of