Friedrich Eduard Behrens

Friedrich Eduard Behrens (short: Fritz Behrens , born December 17, 1836 in Groß Lafferde ; † June 7, 1920 in Hanover ) was a German industrialist and philanthropist . He was entrepreneurially active in the field of lignite mining in the Rheinische Revier and in his will he ordered the establishment of a non-profit foundation , which is still active as the Fritz Behrens Foundation to this day .

Life

Friedrich Eduard Behrens was born in Groß Lafferde in 1836 as the son of a farmer and attended elementary school in his home town. He then completed the Real- und Handelsinstitut in Hildesheim as well as a four-year apprenticeship as a businessman in Peine . After working in Hamburg , Harburg and Saxony , he was involved in founding an iron wholesaler in Dortmund in 1872 and a year later in the creation of the " Brühl-Godesberger Verein für Braunkohlenverwertung AG ", which started the mining and exploitation of lignite in the Rhineland . In 1903 he founded the mining trade union " United Ville ".

Friedrich Eduard Behrens, who moved from Berlin to Hanover in 1881 , was appointed councilor of commerce there in 1908 and was awarded several Prussian and Oldenburg medals. He was philanthropically active in a variety of ways and donated to various scientific, cultural and social institutions, including the Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Promotion of Science , the German School Ship Association and the Hanover City Gallery. He died in Hanover in 1920 and at the time of his death was considered the richest man in the city.

Tomb

Two miners by the sculptor Georg Herting as a tomb for Fritz Behrens and Anna , born Jasper (May 2, 1846 - May 31, 1920) at the Engesohde city cemetery

The Behrens tomb, based on plans by the sculptor Georg Herting with the depiction of miners , can be found in the Engesohde city cemetery, Department 6 , grave number 98a-98d .

Aftermath

The Fritz Behrens Foundation

→ Main article see Fritz-Behrens-Stiftung

In accordance with the will of Friedrich Eduard Behrens, a foundation for the promotion of art , monument protection , charity and science was established from his assets , which is still active today under the name "Fritz Behrens Foundation".

Further attributions

The following were named after Friedrich Eduard Behrens:

• the Fritz-Behrens-Allee in Hanover; the path already existed at Schiffgraben in 1745 and was renamed in 1930 between the New House and Hanover Zoo ;
• the Behrensstrasse in Hürth - Berrenrath ;
• the rescue cruiser Fritz Behrens, financed by funds from the Fritz Behrens Foundation and operated by the German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People from 1981 to 2009 .

literature

• Edgar Kalthoff, Otto Heinrich May (Ed.): Niedersächsische Lebensbilder, Volume 9. (= Publications of the Historical Commission for Lower Saxony and Bremen , Volume 22.) Lax, Hildesheim 1976, ISBN 3-7848-2509-5 , p. 136– 153.
• Waldemar R. Röhrbein : Behrens, (2) Friedrich Eduard. In: Dirk Böttcher , Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein, Hugo Thielen : Hannoversches Biographisches Lexikon . From the beginning to the present. Schlütersche, Hannover 2002, ISBN 3-87706-706-9 , p. 46. ( online at Google books )
• Waldemar R. Röhrbein: Behrens, (2) Fritz. In: Klaus Mlynek, Waldemar R. Röhrbein (eds.) U. a .: City Lexicon Hanover . From the beginning to the present. Schlütersche, Hannover 2009, ISBN 978-3-89993-662-9 , p. 55.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Waldemar R. Röhrbein: Behrens, (2) Fritz (see literature)
2. ↑ Karin van Schwartzenberg (responsible): Graves of honor and graves of important personalities at the Engesohde town cemetery , A3 leaflet with overview sketch, ed. from the City of Hanover, The Lord Mayor, Department of Environment and Urban Greenery, Department of Urban Cemeteries, Department of Administration and Customer Service, Hanover, 2012
3. ^ Helmut Zimmermann : Fritz-Behrens-Allee. In: The street names of the state capital Hanover , Verlag Hahnsche Buchhandlung , Hanover 1992, ISBN 3-7752-6120-6 , p. 85