Lauritz Carl Constantin Philipsen (1 December 1859 in Copenhagen; died 23 August 1925 Copenhagen) [1] is credited as one of the founders of the Cinema of Denmark.
Philipsen, a photographer toured Scandinavian nations from 1898 with his magic lantern[2] He eventually sold his photography business to enter the emerging world of cinema on a full-time basis.
Philipsen opened Denmark's first viable cinema the 158 seat Kosmorama in 1904 in Copenhagen[3] He opened 26 more Kosmorama Cinemas in Denmark between 1905 and 1906.
[4] Though the majority of cinemas seated at most 300-400 people, Philipsen opened the large Palace Cinema seating 2500 and using a 30 piece orchestra in to former site of Copenhagen's Grand Central Railway station[5] In addition to owning cinemas Philipsen began producing his own films from 1909.
His son Preben Philipsen (1910–2005) named his Constantin Film company after his father.