Nikolai Tirkkonen

Frans Nikolai Tirkkonen (5 April 1875 – 17 December 1926) was a Finnish merchant and Commercial Counselor.

Tirkkonen owned the textile, yarn, and fashion goods store "J. Tirkkonen" in Tampere, which his parents, who began their careers as market vendors, had founded in 1869.

Childhood and youth Nikolai Tirkkonen's father was Johan (Juhana) (b. April 28, 1841, Joroinen; d. October 10, 1892, Tampere), and his mother was Hedvig Maria (b. December 19, 1842, Tyrvää; d. January 2, 1919, Tampere). In 1869, his parents became itinerant merchants, traveling through Savo and Central Finland with horse-drawn wagons. Their trade flourished, and within a few years, they purchased a market stall at the edge of Tampere's Central Square in the Pillar Shops. In the same year Nikolai was born, they moved their thriving textile and yarn shop to a wooden building at 6 Kauppakatu.

A year after his father's death, Nikolai Tirkkonen went abroad to Berlin, London, and Paris to train as a merchant. His widowed mother, Maria Tirkkonen, continued to manage the store.

Tirkkonen House and business expansion After returning to Finland, Nikolai Tirkkonen resumed the business alongside his mother. In 1901, the old wooden shop building was replaced with the Art Nouveau-style, three-story Tirkkonen House at the corner of Kuninkaankatu and Kauppakatu. The building was designed by architects Lars Sonck and Birger Federley. The Tirkkonen store also operated Tampere's first delivery truck, purchased in 1910.

Nikolai Tirkkonen managed the fabric shop, which, inspired by a Berlin model, was spread over two floors. His mother Maria oversaw the yarn department. Both lived in the building's third floor.

Family Nikolai Tirkkonen was married to Fanny Maria Törnudd (b. November 17, 1876, Ilmajoki). The couple had two children: Tauno Juhani Uolevi (b. August 2, 1898) and Erkki Juhani (b. May 27, 1901).