RÉE, HARTVIG PHILIP

RÉE, HARTVIG PHILIP (1778–1859), manufacturer, merchant, and religious reformer. He was born and brought up in Fredericia (Denmark), where in his young days, he tried to introduce religious reform but was unsuccessful. In 1810 he moved to Aarhus, establishing there a business empire and became known as "King Rée." In Aarhus he also founded a synagogue and officiated as rabbi, introducing choir hymns, psalms in German, and sermons in Danish; however his reforms were not imitated throughout Denmark, as he had hoped. He also wrote many hymns in Hebrew and German, with melodies, and made frequent contributions to Jewish and general periodicals. Rée was the author of several books, including Forschungen ueber die Ueberschriften der Psalmen (1846). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Fischer, Hartvig Philip Rée og hans Slaegt (Danish, Fr., and Ger., 1912); Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, S.V.