Christian Ditlev Ammentorp Hansen (25 February 1843 – 20 June 1916) was a Danish pharmacist and industrialist. He founded Christian Hansen's Technical-Chemical Laboratory (Chr. Hansen), which revolutionized the production of wholesome dairy products in the 1870s. He also had a key role in the establishment of the Danish Pharmaceutical College in Copenhagen in 1892, financing its first building in Stockholmsgade out of his own pocket. He owned Mullerup on Funen and Bøstrup at Slagelse.
Early life
Hansen was born on 25 February 1843 at Kragsbjerg, near Odense the son of Christian Henrik Hansen (1797-1868) and Bertha Marie Ammentorp (1805-1848). He attended Slagelse Realskole in Slagelse and then Ålborg Latinskole in Aalborg.
Pharmacist
Hansen apprenticed as a pharmacist at the pharmacy of Frederick's Hospital in Copenhagen, 1859. He passed his exams as an assistant pharmacist in 1862 and then worked at the pharmacy in Højer from 1862 to 1864 before passing his pharmaceutical exams in 1865. He then spent half a year at the pharmacy in Thisted before returning to Copenhagen where he worked as an assistant at the University of Copenhagen's Chemical Laboratory from 1870 to 72.