Emil from Škoda

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emil Škoda
Emil Škoda's grave in Pilsen

Emil Ritter von Škoda (born November 18, 1839 in Pilsen , Austria-Hungary , † August 8, 1900 on his way home from Bad Gastein shortly after 2 a.m. in a train near Selzthal in Upper Styria ) was a Bohemian engineer , industrialist and namesake of the engineering company Škoda .

Life and origin

Emil Škoda was the son of the state medical officer for Bohemia in Prague Franz Ritter von Škoda and his second wife Johanna-Margarethe born. Rziha and grandson of Josef Škoda, nail blacksmith in Pilsen. His uncle Josef was a professor of medicine at the University of Vienna . On August 22, 1871, Emil von Škoda married Hermine Hahnenkamp, ​​the granddaughter of the main founder of the civil brewery in Pilsen. Four children were born to the couple, including Karl Ritter von Škoda (1878–1929), General Director of the Škoda Works in Pilsen and the writer Herma von Škoda (1879–1966), married to Richard Lauer (1891–1944), chief engineer of the Škoda -Works.

Škoda graduated from the lower secondary school in Eger and the upper secondary school in Prague, studied mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic in Prague, at the Polytechnic in Karlsruhe and in Stuttgart . He then worked as an engineer in Chemnitz and Magdeburg . Here he learned and worked at Richard Hartmann in Chemnitz around 1864 . From 1866 on, he was chief engineer in the mechanical engineering company of Count Ernst Waldstein-Wartenberg in Pilsen , which he acquired through purchase on July 12, 1869 as a company with 33 employees. Škoda expanded it into the Škoda steel and weapons works in Pilsen with 4,000 employees, who initially supplied sugar factories, breweries and ironworks with systems and castings. In 1885 a cast steel works was built.

Arms production began in 1866, followed by the establishment of an arms factory. In a special department of the Škoda works, cannons and ammunition for warships were produced, especially for the Austro-Hungarian navy on the Adriatic . In his will, Emil von Škoda bequeathed 80,000 crowns for his workers who had become old and unable to work in this factory. He left the city of Pilsen 10,000 kroner and donated important legacies for his servants. In 1869 he participated in the establishment of a joint brewery in Pilsen.

During the economic crisis in the 1870s, Emil von Škoda expanded his activities abroad and delivered systems to Hungary, the Balkans and the Russian Empire . A branch was opened in Kiev . In 1899 he became chairman and general secretary of a newly founded stock corporation of his group of companies. He held this post until his death in 1900 near Selzthal in Upper Styria on his way home from the spa town of Bad Gastein . His son Karl von Škoda became the company's successor as general manager.

Appreciation

Škoda was not only a technician and production manager, but also a good businessman. He had a feeling for new developments, but also a feeling for problem areas. His company took on technical orders that were difficult to implement for the time, and found solutions, which earned him military orders for war material. One of his achievements was the further development of mechanical engineering in Bohemia . Appointed by the emperor, he was a member of the Austrian manor house , a member of the Bohemian state parliament and a number of industrial associations and institutions.

A competition organized by Škoda Holding is named in memory of Emil von Škoda . The prize, endowed with up to 80,000 crowns, is awarded on application for a technical diploma or doctoral thesis.

Emil von Škoda is also the eponym for the name of the car manufacturer Škoda Auto .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Register entry in Pilsen
  2. ↑ Heribert Sturm : Biographical Lexicon for the History of the Bohemian Countries. Published on behalf of the Collegium Carolinum (Institute) , Volume II, R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-486-52551-4 , p. 394.
  3. ↑ Myth Hartmann. ISBN 978-3-910186-72-9 .
  4. ^ Echo newspaper from Pilsen and West Bohemia , Pilsen, August 11, 1900, p. 4

Web links

Commons : Emil Škoda  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Škoda, Emil von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Škoda, Emil Ritter von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bohemian engineer and industrialist
DATE OF BIRTH November 18, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH Pilsen
DATE OF DEATH August 8, 1900
Place of death near Selzthal , Upper Styria