André Koechlin

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André Koechlin

André Koechlin , also Andreas Köchlin , (* 3. August 1789 in Mulhouse , † 24. April 1875 in Paris ) was a French textile - and railway - entrepreneurs .

Life

Koechlin, grandson of Samuel Koechlin and Jean-Marie Dollfus, who founded the textile industry in Mulhouse in 1746, took over the management of the textile company Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie in 1818 after the death of his father-in-law Dollfus . In order to get involved in mechanical engineering , he founded the André Koechlin et Compagnie company in 1826 with a foundry in Mulhouse, which later became the Elsässische Maschinenbau-Gesellschaft Grafenstaden and finally Alstom . The first Alsatian locomotives came from his works , in particular in 1839 the first locomotive, later called Napoleon , for his cousin Nicolas Koechlin's Mulhouse- Thann rail link .

Koechlin was one of the main shareholders in the Ronchamp coal mines , which supplied coal to the Mulhouse industry. With his ventures he was able to increase his fortune enormously. Around 1835 he had small houses built for his workers, which the workers lived in for a small rent with the obligation to cultivate the garden, send their children to school, not run into debts and to pay a savings amount into the savings bank every week to participate in the company health insurance fund.

During and after the July Revolution of 1830 Koechlin was Mayor of Mulhouse from 1830 to April 1832 and August 1832 to 1843 . In 1832 he reorganized the urban social system with a ban on begging. He founded a large urban interdenominational elementary school and built a new hospital . He also promoted and supported the establishment of homes for the mentally ill. At the end of 1842 he submitted his resignation as mayor because of the resistance in the city council against a coal store.

1832–1834 and 1846–1848, Koechlin was a member of the National Assembly from Altkirch and from 1841–1846 from Mulhouse . There he supported the monarchists and the policies of François Guizot , while his cousin Nicolas Koechlin supported the opposition. In 1836 he became a Knight of the Legion of Honor . In 1847 André Koechlin led a group of MPs who signed a reform declaration . Guizot submitted the declaration to King Louis-Philippe I , but he rejected it.

After the February Revolution in 1848 he withdrew from politics. He continued his charity activities with generous support from social institutions and religious communities.

Koechlin's great-nephew Maurice Koechlin was an engineer in Gustave Eiffel's office and, together with Émile Nouguier, provided the first design for the Eiffel Tower .

literature

  • Eugen Waldner:  Koechlin . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 51, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1906, pp. 296-299.
  • Paul Schmitt: Mulhouse au XIXe siècle - La montée du catholicisme . Coprur, Strasbourg 1992, pp. 85-87, 89-92, 98-99, 115-117, 126, 133, 134, 174, 179.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Raymond Oberlé: Koechlin André: industriel, maire, député (Mulhouse 03/03/1789 - 04/14/1875 Paris) . In: Dictionnaire du monde religieux dans la France contemporaine: Alsace , Volume 2, éditions Beauchesne, 1987 ( ISBN 9782701011417 ) p. 241.
  2. ↑ Michel Hau: L'Industrialisation de l'Alsace (1803-1939) , PUS, Strasbourg, 1987, p. 344.
  3. ^ Thouvenin: De l'influence que l'industrie exerce sur la santé des populations dans les grands centers manufacturiers , 1846.
  4. ^ Assemblée Nationale: André Koechlin (accessed February 9, 2016).
  5. ^ Edouard Bucquet: Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera . Comptes-rendus des sessions legislatives. Sessions de 1831 et 1832, Paulin, Paris, 1833, pp. 22 and 197.
  6. ↑ Laurent Theis: François Guizot , Fayard, Paris, 2008 ( ISBN 9782213636535 ), pp. 455–456.
personal data
SURNAME Koechlin, André
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Köchlin, Andreas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French textile and railway entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1789
PLACE OF BIRTH Mulhouse
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 1875
Place of death Paris