Emil Keßler

This article deals with the entrepreneur Emil Keßler; for other people see Emil Kessler .

Emil Kessler

Emil Julius Carl von Keßler , also written as Kessler , (born  August 20, 1813 in Baden-Baden , †  March 16, 1867 in Esslingen am Neckar ) was a German entrepreneur and founder of the Karlsruhe mechanical engineering company and the Esslingen machine factory .

Working life

Keßler attended education in Baden-Baden and later studied civil engineering and mechanical engineering at the Karlsruhe Polytechnic . In 1837 he founded with Theodor Martiensen in Karlsruhe , the Maschinenfabrik Emil Kessler & Theodor Martiensen , were manufactured in the appliances, small machinery and railway accessories. In 1840/1841 the Royal Württemberg Railway Commission obtained offers to initiate the construction of the railway and the procurement of rolling stock for the Royal Württemberg State Railways . Keßler was successful with his offer. In 1841 he also built the first locomotive built in Baden with the name " Badenia " for the Grand Ducal Baden State Railways .

From 1842 Keßler was the sole owner of the new company, Kesslers Maschinenfabrik . In 1848 it was converted into a stock corporation, whereby Keßler lost a large part of his fortune. However, he remained director until the company was liquidated on October 30, 1851 and acquired by the Baden government in 1852. After this loss, Keßler withdrew from Karlsruhe and moved to Esslingen on May 2, 1852. There he had already won the tender for a machine factory initiated by the Württemberg government in 1845, which was primarily intended as a supplier of railway material. In 1846, Emil Keßler founded the Esslingen machine works west of the Pliensau Bridge in Esslingen, which delivered its first locomotive in 1847. A total of around 800 locomotives were built during his lifetime. Because of their suitability for mountain regions, the Esslingen rail vehicles were also in demand for export.

Private life

Emil Keßler was married twice and had five children. The son of the same name and successor Emil Keßler junior and daughter Carolina Keßler came from the first marriage with Caroline Sachs (1815–1842) . In his second marriage Keßler was born with Charlotte. Bauer (1820–1861) married. From this marriage comes the son Ludwig Keßler, who headed the Esslingen machine factory from 1907, and two other daughters.

Emil Keßler Senior died of a heart attack on March 16, 1867 in Esslingen . He was buried in the Hoppenlauf cemetery in Stuttgart and later reburied in a family grave in the Stuttgart Prague cemetery.

Ennoblement

Emil Keßler was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of the Württemberg Crown in 1854 , which was associated with the personal title of nobility.

literature

• Hans Jaeger:  Keßler, Emil von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 11, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1977, ISBN 3-428-00192-3 , p. 547 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Max Mayer: Locomotives, wagons and mountain railways. Historical development in the Eßlingen machine factory since 1846. VDI publishing house, Berlin 1924.
• Ludwig Keßler: From the beginnings of the Eßlingen machine factory. Emil Keßler, his life his work. Reminder to the 125th anniversary of Emil Keßler's birthday. o. O. 1938.
• Friedrich von Weech : Karl Friedrich Nebenius. In: Badische Biographien , part 1. Heidelberg 1875, ISSN  0940-2640 , pp. 60-62. ( Digitized version )
• Hans Jürgen Enzweiler: Charlotte Kessler, b. Bauer (1820–1861) . In: Ottilienberg. Contributions to the history of the city of Eppingen and the surrounding area. Volume 6, Eppingen 1994, pp. 158-160.
• Wolfgang Distelbarth a. a .: Emil Kessler 1813–1867 , [exhibition in the Badische Landesbibliothek, November 4 to December 2, 1967], ed. vd German Society for Railway History e. V., seat in Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, 1967, 120 pp.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Werner Willhaus: Lokomotivbau in Karlsruhe . EK-Verlag, Freiburg 2005, ISBN 3-88255-837-7 , p. 12-16 .
2. ↑ Keßler, Emil von (Württemberg staff nobility 1854). Retrieved December 2, 2018 .