Born: 1914.\ Death: 2007.\ Famous works: Opala lamp, the Y-chair and "The Chair".\ Education: Designer.
Hans J. Wegner was born in 1914 in Tønder. In 1936, at the age of 22, he was admitted to the School of Arts and Crafts, to which he returned somewhat later as a teacher. In 1943, Wegner opened his own design studio and created the China Chair, which together with the 'Round Chair' from 1949 formed the basis for many of his later chairs. 'The Round Chair' later became known as simply 'THE Chair' after presidential candidates Richard Nixon & John F. Kennedy sat in this very chair during a final TV duel. While "The Chair" is probably one of the main icons of Wegner's great production, the Y-chair is considered by many to be his greatest commercial success.
Hans J. Wegner was also an excellent designer of lamps. His famous hoist pendant from 1962, "The Pendant", has been in production ever since. Both the hoist pendant and his futuristic Opala series - originally designed in the 1970s for Hotel Scandinavia in Copenhagen - are now part of the Pandul collection. Wegner received many international honors for his work and in June 1997 was awarded an honorary doctorate at The Royal College of Art in London.