Background
Hiorth was born in Aker. He was the son of the sheriff there, Hans Jensenius Hiorth (1808–1902), and his wife Lena Woxen. His father was the brother of the industrialist Adam Hiorth.
Hiorth was born in Aker. He was the son of the sheriff there, Hans Jensenius Hiorth (1808–1902), and his wife Lena Woxen. His father was the brother of the industrialist Adam Hiorth.
Fredrik married Thekla Pauline Dahlstrøm (1850–1937), a captain"s daughter from Gøteborg, in 1875. Both of them were very religious. Their son Albert Hiorth (1876–1949) was a well-known engineer and a lay preacher that founded several companies.
After passing his examen artium in 1869 and studying engineering at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, Hiorth worked for the railroad in Eastern Norway until 1880.
He purchased the Rodeløkka Iron Foundry (Rodeløkken Jernstøberi) in 1878, when it had only fourteen employees. After ordering a steamand diesel-powered Dixi automobile in 1900, in 1901 he established the company F. Hiorth’s Automobilforretning (F Hiort Automobile Company) in 1901, which was the first Norwegian company to import cars.
He sold the company in 1906 to his assistant Adolf Kristian Kolberg (1874–1955), and the company was renamed Kolberg & Caspary. Hiorth later operated as a hydropower speculator and power-plant developer.
He contributed to establishing Norsk Hydro in 1905.
He died in Oslo. The now-abandoned settlement of Hiorthhamn on the island of Spitsbergen is named after Hiorth.