August Friedrich Holtzhausen
August Friedrich Wilhelm Holtzhausen (born March 4, 1768 in Ellrich in the southern Harz, † December 1, 1827 in Gliwice , Upper Silesia ) was a German engineer and steam engine manufacturer . As the first German steam engine manufacturer, he built more than 50 steam engines between 1794 and 1825.
life and work
Holtzhausen was born on March 4, 1768 in Ellrich in the southern Harz region and was Protestant. Holtzhausen attended the mining and engineering school in Andreasberg . Since he attracted interest there, he was recommended in 1790 to Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Reden , the director of the Silesian mining authority, who was traveling through the Harz Mountains . He was about to introduce steam engine operation in Silesia and was looking for a machine master for the steam engine that was set up on April 4, 1788 in Tarnowitz on the Königliche Friedrichsgrube. Speech then prompted Holtzhausen to study the steam engine in the Mansfeld copper slate mining. In 1792 Holtzhausen was called to Silesia and was appointed "fire engine master" in the first year. In 1794, Holtzhausen in Upper Silesia began building steam engines himself with the simplest tools and untrained workers. By 1825 he had built more than 50 of them, ranging in size from four to 80 horsepower. In total, they had a horsepower of 770. The parts for the steam engines were first made in the works in Malapane and later in the Royal Gliwice Works , in the machine shops built for this purpose in 1806. In 1808 he was appointed machine inspector. Initially, Holtzhausen built Newcomensche, later Watts steam engines. The first company steam engine in Prussia, which was set up in the Berlin porcelain factory, and the oldest steam engine in the Ruhr area came from Holtzhausen. On March 9, 1825, Holtzhausen received the title of “Machine Director” from the King. Holtzhausen died of a stroke in Gleiwitz on December 1, 1827 and was buried in the Gleiwitz hut cemetery. His tomb, which no longer exists today, was created by his son-in-law, the sculptor Beyerhaus.
In his honor, a commemorative plaque was attached to the state mechanical engineering and smelting school in Gliwice.
literature
- Franz Maria Feldhaus : August Friedrich Holtzhausen . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 50, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1905, p. 454 f.
- Ludolf von Mackensen : Holtzhausen, August Friedrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7 , pp. 558 f. ( Digitized version ).
Web links
- Ludof von Mackensen: Holtzhausen (Holzhausen), August Friedrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7 , p. 558 ( digitized version ).
- Image by Holtzhausen.
Individual evidence
- ^ BG Teubner: Treatises on the history of the mathematical sciences including their applications, volumes 23-24 ; 1907
- ↑ picture of the tomb
- ↑ Photo of the memorial plaque
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Holtzhausen, August Friedrich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Holzhausen, August Friedrich Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 4, 1768 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ellrich |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 1, 1827 |
| Place of death | Gliwice |