Wilhelm Borchers

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Wilhelm Borchers in Aachen

Johannes Albert Wilhelm Borchers (born October 6, 1856 in Goslar ; † January 6, 1925 there ) was a German metallurgical specialist and rector of RWTH Aachen University from 1904 to 1909 .

Training and first steps

Wilhelm Borchers attended the secondary school in his hometown and studied chemistry from 1875 to 1876 at the University of Greifswald and from 1876 to 1878 at the University of Erlangen . In Erlangen he received his doctorate on March 2, 1878 with distinction as Dr. phil. Borchers then did his military service as a one-year volunteer with the Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment in Munich until 1879 . He then worked as a chemist at the chemical factory of Eugen de Haën in Hanover until January 1, 1882.

In 1882 Borchers went to the USA, where he initially held the position of industrial chemist at the Cochrane Chemical Works in Boston . A few months later he teamed up with M. Cutler (Boston) and M. Hall (New York). He knew the latter from Munich. They operated the Colonial Chemical Works in West Medford, Mass . During his first visit to Germany in 1885, he got engaged and married Lucie Martha Ottilie Probst, whose father came from Goslar, on August 2, 1886 in West Prussia. The marriage produced 4 sons. In 1887 he returned to Germany and again joined Eugen de Haën in Hanover-List, where he was given the catenary for the production of the metallurgical, mechanical, electrical and combustion systems. From 1889 to 1890 he put his experiences together and published the book "Elektro-Metallurgie". It was a success.

Time in Duisburg and Aachen

From 1891 to 1892 Borchers took up a two-semester degree in metallurgy at the Clausthal mining academy and continued his education in mechanical engineering and building design at the Harz ironworks. In 1892 he became a teacher of metallurgy and chemistry at the foremen's school in Duisburg. In 1895 he and Walther Nernst took over the editing of the yearbook of electrochemistry and published the second greatly increased edition of "Elektro-Metallurgie". Until 1897 he worked as a teacher of chemistry and chemical technology at the mechanical engineering and smelting school in Duisburg . It was there that Borchers met Fritz Wüst , who had been hired a year before him as a teacher for analytical chemistry in Duisburg.

On October 1st, 1897, Borchers was appointed associate professor for metallurgy , electrometallurgy and soldering tube trial art at the Royal Technical University of Aachen ; after negotiations with the Ministry of Culture, his position was converted into a regular professorship in 1899. As a result, Borchers succeeded in founding an Institute for Metallurgy and Electrometallurgy, which was opened in 1903. In 1899 and 1900, Borchers and Wüst published two textbooks and manuals for iron and steel technology. In 1901 he campaigned for Wüst to initially take over the representation of the sick Friedrich Dürre , Professor of Metallurgy, and to succeed him on October 1, 1901.

In 1900 Borchers was appointed election senator by the college and a year later his colleagues in the department appointed him department head. In 1904 he was elected rector and confirmed in his office in 1907. Borcher's tenure was shaped by three major construction projects: the construction of the Reiff Museum , the decision to build the Institute for the Entire Metallurgy and the purchase of the Templerbend railway station . In his capacity as rector of the TH Aachen, Borchers was appointed to the Prussian manor house for life in 1907 .

After his rectorate, he was vice rector for two more years and also held other positions in academic self-government in the following years. Borchers taught and researched at RWTH Aachen University until his death on January 6, 1925. The Corps Marko-Guestphalia Aachen awarded him the honorary old man's ribbon in 1913; In 1929 a street in Aachen was posthumously named after him.

In addition, he was very interested in the genealogy of the Borchers clan and published a summary of his research in 1912. It also contains a short résumé and a number of copies of your own documents. About 50 years later, his wish came true and they were significantly expanded and continued (blog publication only).

The professor for metallurgy and metallurgy, Ekkard Heinz Borchers , who later worked at the TH Munich , was the youngest son from the first marriage of Wilhelm Borchers. From the second marriage on October 15, 1919 in Goslar with Sophie Wilhelmine Elise Borchers. Grumbrecht from Goslar did not have any children. She was the great-great-granddaughter of his great-great-great-grandfather. Her father was a co-owner of the chemical factory Gebr. Borchers , which was founded by his grandfather in Goslar in 1807.

Borchers badge

At the end of his term of office, the RWTH Aachen College established a foundation named after him in honor of Borcher , which was founded on July 1, 1909. The Borchers plaque donated in his honor is still awarded to doctoral students at RWTH Aachen University who have passed their doctoral examination "with distinction".

The plaque is a pin and shows the portrait of Wilhelm Borchers on the front. It has been awarded several hundred times since its inception.

Honors

See also

Sources and literature

Wikisource: Wilhelm Borchers  - Sources and full texts
Commons : Wilhelm Borchers  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wilhelm Borchers (editor): Borchers - Goslar. 1500-1911. A contribution to the history of Goslar families , Verlag Wilhelm Knapp, Halle ad Saale 1912, 34 pp. + Ill., Photo album u. 7 folding family tables. (Only the linen editions contain photo album sheets, but not all of them contain photos. Cardboard editions are without anything.) One location is the Bonn library of the West German Society for Family Studies, call number 015 A 005
  2. ^ Family tree I, No. 30 of his father's genealogy research, the latter himself No. 25
  3. ^ Family table I, No. 42 of the genealogy research by Wilhelm Borchers
  4. ↑ Brief information on the Borchers badge on the RWTH Aachen website
  5. ↑ Awards of the Borchers plaque in the last ten years on the website of proRWTH - Friends and Sponsors of RWTH Aachen e. V.
personal data
SURNAME Borchers, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Borchers, Johann Albert Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German metallurgist and rector of RWTH Aachen
DATE OF BIRTH October 6, 1856
PLACE OF BIRTH Goslar
DATE OF DEATH January 6, 1925
Place of death Goslar