Franziska Speyer

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Portrait of Franziska Speyer 1872

Franziska Speyer , née Gumbert , (born March 22, 1844 in Berlin ; † November 6, 1909 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German donor and patroness.

life and work

Speyer was the oldest daughter of the Berlin banker Siegmund Gumbert . In 1869 she married the Frankfurt banker Georg Speyer (1835–1902). In 1871 their only child Alfred was born. Because of an intellectual disability, he was under guardianship until his death in 1927 .

After the death of her husband, Franziska Speyer continued his philanthropic work. In 1903/04 she financed the establishment of a club house for the Aktienbaugesellschaft for small apartments on Mainzer Landstrasse and in 1904 donated one million gold marks for the Georg-Speyer-Haus on Sandhofstrasse on the grounds of the municipal hospital . It was opened in 1906 as a research institute for chemotherapy under the direction of Paul Ehrlich and achieved great success in the development of remedies for syphilis and tuberculosis .

In 1907 she founded the Georg Speyer Foundation to promote science and higher scientific education with a capital of 100,000 marks.

Franziska Speyer died in 1909 and, like her husband, was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Rat-Beil-Strasse .

According to a will of the Speyer couple, a large part of the estate was used for charitable purposes. The capital of the Georg and Franziska Speyer'schen Studienstiftung, founded in 1901 and endowed with a capital of one million gold marks , as well as the Georg-Speyer-Haus was increased by one million marks each, the Georg-Speyer-Foundation by 75,000 marks. Donations were also received

  • The Georg and Franziska Speyersche Health Fund to support the terminally ill and their relatives (500,000 marks)
  • The Georg and Franziska Speyer Foundation to support needy members of the Frankfurt professional fire brigade (10,000 marks)
  • The Georg and Franziska Speyer Foundation to support middle and lower officials of the Frankfurt police headquarters (20,000 marks)
  • The foundation for homeworkers (100,000 marks)

Testament donations went to charitable associations, hospitals, research institutions and the Israelite community.

After the National Socialist seizure of power , most of the Speyer's foundations were dissolved as Jewish institutions or added to other foundations. Only the Georg-Speyer-Haus could continue to exist under the name Research Institute for Chemotherapy . In 1949 the Georg and Franziska Speyer'sche University Foundation was re-established. Together with the Georg-Speyer-Haus, which is again working under its original name, it reminds us today of the prominent Frankfurt donor couple.

Honors

Franziska Speyer was a permanent member of the Senckenberg Natural Research Society . In 1902 she received the Red Cross Medal III. Awarded class and was awarded the rare Wilhelm Order .

The asteroid (225 250) Georgfranziska was named in honor of the couple on October 12, 2011.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Minor Planet Circulars # 76676. (PDF) In: Minor Planet Center . October 12, 2011, accessed July 23, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Speyer, Franziska
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gumbert, Franziska
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German founder and patron
DATE OF BIRTH March 22, 1844
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 1909
Place of death Frankfurt am Main