Los Angeles County
Biographies
THORKILD R. KNUDSEN
Thorkild R. Knudsen, president of Knudsen Creamery Co. of California, was born in Lohals, Denmark, in September 1890; the son of Valdemar and Analie (Hansen) Knudsen. He is a graduate of high school and junior college, both in Denmark.
Mr. Knudsen began his career in association with Knudsen Laboratory, established in 1914. He is now president of the Knudsen Creamery Co. of California which was established in 1919. Mr. Thorkild (Tom) Knudsen took out the first patent for cottage cheese in the United States, and in 1917he gave it to the United States as public property.
In 1947 he was knighted by His Majesty the King of Denmark. This honor is known as “Ridder of Dannebrog,” and is an honorary degree bestowed upon individuals whose outstanding careers in their respective fields warrant this merit.
Mr. Knudsen is past president of the Los Angeles Breakfast Club, and the Monte Sano Foundation, and is a member of the Los Angeles Kiwanis Club, Jonathan Club and several Danish-American Associations.
In 1917 Mr. Knudsen married Valley Mary Filtzer and has two daughters, Elinor Gene Hoffman and Marie Johanna Christensen. The family home is at 3034 Edgewick Road, Glendale, California.
Offices: 1974 Santee Street, Los Angeles, California.
Transcribed 3-21-14 Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Eminent
Californians 1953, by Lee E. Johnson & C. W. Taylor. Page 267, C. W. Taylor Publ., Palo Alto,
California, 1953.
© 2014 Marilyn R. Pankey.
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