Adelbert Delbrück

Gottlieb Adelbert Delbrück (born January 16, 1822 in Magdeburg , † May 26, 1890 in Kreuzlingen ) was a German entrepreneur and banker . He was one of the founders of Deutsche Bank .

Life

Delbrück first studied theology and law . Against the family tradition (see family ), he did not pursue a career as a civil servant , but went into the private sector. He was initially a lawyer and employee of an insurance company .

In 1854 he founded the Delbrück Leo & Co. bank with other merchants . In the 50s and 60s of the 19th century, he took on management positions in various business associations, particularly in the banking sector. From 1870 to 1875 he was a member of the board of directors of the German Industry and Commerce Congress, where he was involved in solving central financial, currency and economic problems of his time. He also worked on the development of the Berlin Stock Exchange in the senior collegium of the Berlin merchants and, as a member of the German Progressive Party, helped shape Berlin's local politics in the city council.

His experience in business and banking led him to believe that the credit market needed a large German bank. From 1869 he prepared a corresponding foundation, in which he was supported by the national liberal politician and economic expert Ludwig Bamberger . The most important condition for the establishment was capital , which Delbrück solicited from various reputable banks. With the subscription of shares valued at 175,000 thalers by the Magnus banking house , owned by Victor Magnus , the latter co- founded Deutsche Bank, which was founded in Berlin in 1870 . Magnus was elected chairman of the 1st board of directors, a function that he only held for a short time, as he had to give up the office again in mid-1871 for health reasons.

In 1871 Delbrück was elected chairman of the board of directors and from this position he had a significant influence on ongoing business activities until 1885, partly to the displeasure of the board of directors around Georg Siemens . For example, he placed his brother-in-law Paul Jonas on the board of the bank in 1880, where he clashed with Siemens and had to leave the board again in 1887. In 1889 Delbrück resigned from the board of directors due to illness; he died in 1890 while staying at the Bellevue sanatorium in Kreuzlingen ( Canton Thurgau , Switzerland ).

The Delbrück family grave in Berlin-Kreuzberg with an honorary grave marking for Adelbert Delbrück

He was buried in the Berlin Cemetery III of the Jerusalem and New Churches in front of the Hallesches Tor . His final resting place is the neoclassical wall grave of the Delbrück family. The three-axis system, built from sandstone blocks, with inscription panels made of red granite has a lattice surround. By resolution of the Berlin Senate , the last resting place of Adelbert Delbrück (field 331-EB-3) has been dedicated to the State of Berlin as an honorary grave since 1992 . The dedication was extended in 2016 by the usual period of twenty years.

family

Adelbert Delbrück belonged to the widely branched lawyers - and theologian family Delbrück that a prominent role in the high in the 19th century civil Prussia and the German Empire has played and produced numerous statesmen, politicians and scholars.

His father Gottlieb Delbrück (1777–1842) was a civil servant in Magdeburg as well as a government representative and curator of the University of Halle . His son Ludwig Delbrück (1860-1913) successfully took over the management of the bank Delbrück Leo & Co . As head of the Reich Chancellery, Adelbert's cousin Rudolf von Delbrück was a close confidante of Bismarck .

Adelbert Delbrück was married to Luise Jonas (1831–1922), a daughter of the theologian Ludwig Jonas ; the banker Paul Jonas was her brother.

Peer Steinbrück - from 2002 to 2005 Prime Minister of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia , from 2005 to 2009 Federal Minister of Finance and SPD candidate for Chancellor in the 2013 federal election - is a great-great-great-nephew of the bank founder. ( See : Delbrück (family) )

literature

Hans-Henning Zabel: Delbrück, Gottlieb Adelbert. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 576 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Adelbert Delbrück - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Biography of the Historical Society of Deutsche Bank

Individual evidence

^ Hans-Jürgen Mende : Lexicon of Berlin burial places . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 , p. 241.
↑ Honorary graves of the State of Berlin (as of November 2018) . (PDF, 413 kB) Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection, p. 15; accessed on March 27, 2019. Recognition and further preservation of graves as honorary graves of the State of Berlin . (PDF, 205 kB). Berlin House of Representatives, printed matter 17/3105 of July 13, 2016, p. 1 and Annex 2, p. 3; accessed on March 27, 2019.
^ The family tree of the Bennecke family

personal data
SURNAME	Delbrück, Adelbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Delbrück, Gottlieb Adelbert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German entrepreneur and banker
DATE OF BIRTH	January 16, 1822
PLACE OF BIRTH	Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH	May 26, 1890
Place of death	Kreuzlingen

[1] Hans-Jürgen Mende : Lexicon of Berlin burial places . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 , p. 241.

[2] Honorary graves of the State of Berlin (as of November 2018) . (PDF, 413 kB) Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection, p. 15; accessed on March 27, 2019. Recognition and further preservation of graves as honorary graves of the State of Berlin . (PDF, 205 kB). Berlin House of Representatives, printed matter 17/3105 of July 13, 2016, p. 1 and Annex 2, p. 3; accessed on March 27, 2019.

[3] The family tree of the Bennecke family