Friedrich Harkort

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Friedrich Harkort, around 1820
Friedrich Harkort
Memorial plaque on the Harkort Tower in Wetter
Harkort Memorial in Harkortstrasse in Dortmund-Hombruch
Alfred Rethel : The Harkort factory at Burg Wetter, around 1834
The Harkort hereditary burial site with the tomb of Friedrich Harkort

Friedrich Wilhelm Harkort (born February 22, 1793 in Westerbauer near Haspe ; † March 6, 1880 in the Kirchhörder district of Hombruch ), often referred to as the "father of the Ruhr area ", was a German entrepreneur and politician in the early days of the industrial revolution .

His Harkort machine factory in Wetter (Ruhr) was later merged into Deutsche Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft ( DEMAG ). The mining of coal in civil engineering was only possible thanks to its pumps, steam engines and railroad tracks. Concern for the long-term well-being of his employees drove him to Berlin as a member of the Reichstag (1871–74). His struggle was the ban on child labor, the establishment of health insurances for workers, education for everyone, health protection for workers through the establishment of professional associations . His final resting place is on the Ardey Mountains in the beech forest of the Schede estate in Herdecke .

Life

Harkort was born as the fifth of eight children of the Brandenburg hardware manufacturer and merchant ( Reidemeister ) Johann Caspar Harkort IV (1753-1818) in the Harkorten house . Among other things, he was the brother of the banker and railway pioneer Gustav Harkort , the mining engineer and officer Eduard Harkort and the entrepreneur Johann Caspar Harkort V. After primary school on the Quambusch, he attended the trade school in Hagen from 1799 . He completed this in 1808. He then did a commercial apprenticeship at the Mohl company in Barmen - Wichlinghausen . From 1813 he took part in the wars of liberation together with his brother Gustav as prime lieutenant . At Jumet he was wounded twice and awarded the Iron Cross . In 1818 he married the daughter of his former teacher, Auguste Mohl (1796-1835). The couple had two sons and four daughters:

  • Auguste (* July 16, 1819; † December 10, 1899) Georg 1845 Georg Christian Funk († August 29, 1849)
  • Mathilde Wilhelmine Auguste (* December 5, 1820 - November 20, 1893) ⚭ 1843 Eduard von Scheven (* September 15, 1812 - June 16, 1907), pastor
  • Friedrich Wilhelm (* May 10, 1822 - June 19, 1897), machine manufacturer in Barmen men 1849 Anna Catharina Helene Hueck (* March 13, 1823)
  • Johanna (born January 13, 1828; † March 12, 1908) ⚭ Carl Gustav Maentell (1821–1907), Prussian lieutenant general
  • Louise (August 15, 1831 - September 26, 1907) ⚭ 1856 Louis Constanz Berger , entrepreneur from Witten
  • Carl (December 25, 1832; † February 5, 1894), founder of the saw and tool factory Harkort and Lohmann in Cronenberg ⚭ 1859 Emma Tesche (* March 10, 1835; † October 9, 1910)

In 1861 Harkort was awarded the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd class. The Harkortsee was named after Friedrich Harkort .

Entrepreneurial activity

Harkort's entrepreneurial activity was particularly characterized by technical and social pioneering achievements. In contrast, there was no sustainable economic success in his ventures. The reason for this is likely to have been that Harkort basically allowed anyone interested to visit the companies he set up, to study the procedures practiced there in detail and, if necessary, to provide advice and assistance in setting up the relevant companies. In his endeavors to promote the industrial development of his homeland, he actively supported his own competition. The tragic climax was the fact that in 1847 of all places, when the connection of Hombruch to the main line of the Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft , which he had suggested, he made his large estates, which he had acquired there in 1827, economically interesting largely lost through seizure and forced sale.

Industrial pioneer

In his homeland, Friedrich Harkort was considered a restless spirit. After the death of his father in 1818, he first set up a tannery on his father's Harkorten estate and ran a copper hammer in the nearby Deilbach . Just one year later, he passed these two companies on to relatives and, together with the Elberfeld merchant and banker Heinrich Kamp, founded the company Mechanische Werkstätten Harkort & Co. for the manufacture of steam engines and gas lighting equipment at the castle within the city of Wetter . Together with his brother Gustav, he also founded a company that operated forwarding and commissioning and traded in English yarns. The Prussian authorities promoted Harkort's factory as the first industrial ironworks in Westphalia and as one of the first mechanical engineering companies in the Ruhr area, because this benefited from the dewatering machines for the up-and-coming mining industry on the Ruhr . The puddling process was introduced as early as 1826 in the puddling and rolling mill, which was built on the English model . At the Rüblinghauser Hütte near Olpe, Harkort was one of the first in Westphalia to smelt iron ore with the help of coke since the early 1830s.

Demag's Wetter plant later emerged from Harkort's company. One of his early activities in the social field within his company was the creation of a company health insurance fund based on the model of the mountain union funds . Harkort is considered an early pioneer of the industrial revolution.

Railway pioneer

In 1825, Harkort published in number 26 of the magazine Hermann the call to build a railway between Cologne on the Rhine and Minden on the Weser . It was at this time that Germany began to pay attention to the subject, and Harkort acted like an entrepreneur when he published his article under a certain market strategy . His essay began with the words:

"The rapid and cheap removal of goods significantly increases the prosperity of a country ..."

- Friedrich Harkort : Original sound

When the British engineer Henry Robinson Palmer presented a monorail in 1824 , in which hanging transport containers were pulled by horses, Harkort had such a train built through his factory in Elberfeld on a trial basis in 1826 . Together with Bergrat Heintzmann, he tried to interest the public in this forerunner, which was only reflected in the construction of the Wuppertal suspension railway 75 years later .

Harkort's considerations as an entrepreneur were mainly focused on long-distance transport, because in 1829 Harkort's company already had a production capacity of one million pounds of rails for local mining .

In 1828 Friedrich Harkort founded together with Nikolaus Egen , his brother-in-law Ludwig Mohl (who ran the copper hammer in the Deilbachtal ), the doctor of medicine Voss from Steele (now part of the city of Essen ) and the Langenberg merchants Reichmann and Meyberg, the first rail company on German soil - the Prince Wilhelm Railway Company . Its purpose was the construction of the Deiltaler Eisenbahn ( Deilthaler Eisenbahn Aktiengesellschaft ), which opened on September 20, 1831 and was named Prince Wilhelm Railway .

In 1828, under his significant influence, the Schlebusch-Harkorter coal railway , which had been under construction since 1820 , was opened in the first section, a Prussian mile long section. It was the first railway in Germany over a length of one mile, the second railway in Germany over this length was the Deiltaler Eisenbahn, which was also built by Harkort. A year later, in 1829, Harkort was elected to the Westphalian provincial parliament. There he repeated his proposal in 1831. In 1833 Harkort published his appeal again: "The railways from Minden to Cöln". The result was a stock corporation that sought the necessary capital for the construction of the line, because the Prussian state was neither willing nor able to build the line.

Due to adverse circumstances, the company could no longer be continued some time later. The line was not fully passable until 1847 and was operated by the Cologne-Mindener Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft . From 1844 to 1848, the main line of the Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft was built according to plans developed by Harkort .

Political activity

Educational policy

Friedrich Harkort was instrumental in the educational policy of the German nation in the 19th century. He founded the association for German elementary schools and for the dissemination of non-profit knowledge . Within a very short time, the association had 2500 members from the upper class. Among them there were many supporters of a new form of school that would enable elementary school teachers to leave their low class. This was a sensitive issue, as neither the state nor the church were interested in providing “responsible teachers” with the educational mandate. Rather, the usual image of the “catechist” still corresponded to the ideas of the authorities.

Harkort recognized the emerging grievances caused by advancing industrialization on the one hand and the inadequate expansion of educational opportunities for the proletariat on the other hand and wrote an indictment published in 1844 entitled "Comments on the obstacles to civilization and the emancipation of the lower classes", from which the following quotations come:

"100,000 primers, which cost 3,000 thalers, have a greater value for the education of mankind than 100,000 armed men who devour 9 million annually."
"8,000 people who live in one square mile need a higher degree of education and knowledge in order to survive than some shepherds who roam in desolate areas."

With an understanding of grievances and injustice, Harkort campaigned for over 20 years in the constituent national assembly of Prussia for the repeal of the regulations and for the passage of the education law.

Social policy

Harkort was a member of the district council, from 1830 a member of the Westphalian Provincial Parliament, in 1850 a member of the Volkshaus of the Erfurt Union Parliament and in 1848 a member of the constituent Prussian National Assembly . There he was the namesake and leading figure of the Harkort faction . From 1867 to 1870 he was a member of the North German Reichstag for the constituency of Hagen (Arnsberg 5) and from 1871 to 1874 for the same constituency of the German Reichstag , where he was considered a progressive, liberal politician and joined the faction of the Progressive Party in both legislative periods . In addition to educational and socio-political issues, he was also involved in transport and economic policy.

As a member of the Reichstag , Harkort demanded permanent employment and fixed wages for the workers. He also proposed a “profit sharing for workers” and called for a “ban on all child labor ”. From 1856 support funds for workers and craftsmen were set up according to his demands. His work “On the Social Question” is still known today.

The events of the revolution of 1848/1849 caused him to write an open letter (“beehive letter” because of a woodcut on the title page showing a beehive) to his workers. The content of this letter was Harkort's examination of the social changes brought about by advancing industrialization. In his letter, Harkort characterizes the entrepreneur as hardworking, who bears the investment risk, who helps to prosperity, averts barbarism and is subject to the performance principle. He classifies the worker as the "good worker" or the proletarian. God has blessed the former with common sense and the strength of his hands. Therefore, that must also be supported by social institutions. The proletarian, on the other hand, is neglected, gives birth to his own kind, has not learned his trade, robs others and causes cancer damage to the commune.

See also

Sources and Notes

Workers Question (Social Question), 1844

“The great industrialists emerge from the commercial crowd; like the condottieris of the Middle Ages, they collect old and young from all peoples under their banners for pay, venturing profit or loss of the enterprise at their own risk. […] Pay is the only bond […] ”.
“We already noticed earlier that it seemed impractical to hold the factory owner responsible for the maintenance of his people. The mere obligation could be urgently suggested to introduce the system of mutual support […] both in cases of illness and disability among them and to support it with appropriate subsidies. If the state secures the masters through customs protection, then something will also happen for the servants. "
“The poor who buy in the smallest quantities must therefore pay the most expensive prices. To counter this, the manufacturer could gather his workers into an association which acquired the most necessary needs in large numbers and distributed them among themselves. [...] "
“According to the current conditions, the worker does certain services for a certain wage [...]; further he cares neither about the welfare of the factory nor of the entrepreneur. The labor force still appears too crude and uneducated for a closer connection with the capital to be possible. If, however, we imagine a morally educated mass of individuals, then a happy relationship could take place. Besides the fixed wages, the work would have to be given a share of the profit, and diligence and activity would do wonders. "

Fonts

  • The railway from Minden to Cologne. Brune, Hagen 1833.
  • The times of the first Westphalian [16th] Landwehr Regiment. A contribution to the history of the Wars of Liberation. 1841.
  • Comments on the Prussian elementary school and its teachers. Worry not, Hagen 1842.
  • Remarks on the Obstacles to Civilization and Emancipation of the Lower Classes. Bädeker, Elberfeld 1844.
    • Remarks on the Obstacles to Civilization and Emancipation of the Lower Classes. (Continuation of the remarks about the Prussian elementary school and its teachers. ) Verlag Diesterweg, Frankfurt am Main 1919.
  • Letter to the workers. Decker, Berlin 1848.
  • The Belgian mining laws. Foreword by Friedrich Harkort; German translation by Moritz Block. Verlag E. H. Schroeder, Berlin 1849. 156 pp.
  • The Westphalian flax cultivation, in its application to the whole of Germany. After L. Upmeyer. Verlag Carl J. Klemann, Berlin 1851. 35 pp.
  • Flax Martha. Bielefeld 1850.
  • About Volksbanks. Verlag J. Klemann, Berlin 1851. 24 pp.
  • Citizens 'and farmers' letters. 1. u. 2nd Edition. Meyer, Braunschweig 1851.
  • The Landwehr and the budget of 1852. Verlag J. Klemann, Berlin 1852. 31 pp.
  • Second letter to citizens and farmers. Bädeker, Elberfeld 1852.
  • Electoral catechism pro 1852 for the people. Meyer, Braunschweig 1852.
  • Older history of coal mining and iron and steel production in the county of Mark . Verlag Gustav Butz, Hagen 1855. 8 pp.
  • About the poor, health and disability funds. Verlag Gustaf Butz, Hagen 1856. 32 pp.
  • History of the village, the castle and the freedom weather contributing to the history of County Mark . Hagen 1856.
  • A voice from the people. [anonymous], Berlin 1859 - voting mirror for workers, citizens and farmers. o. O. 1867.
  • Comments on the Prussian elementary school under the ministry of Herr von Mühler. Berlin 1871.
  • Workers mirror. Krupp, Hagen and Essen 1875/77.
  • Contributions to the history of Westphalia and the county of Mark. Hagen 1880 [dr. as a manuscript for friends].

literature

  • Walther Bacmeister: Friedrich Harkort in his unknown poems, in unpublished letters and documents . Bacmeister National Verlag, Essen-Rüttenscheid 1937.
  • Louis Constans Berger: The old Harkort: a Westphalian image of life and time . Baedeker, Leipzig 1890. ( online version )
  • Anke Killing: Friedrich Harkort . Regional picture office Westphalia, Münster 1993.
  • Wolfgang Köllmann:  Harkort, Friedrich. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1966, ISBN 3-428-00188-5 , pp. 675-677 ( digitized version ).
  • Aloys Meister: Friedrich Harkort (1793–1880). In: Rheinisch-Westfälische Wirtschaftsbiographien, Volume I. Aschendorff, Münster 1931, pp. 38–72.
  • Georg W. Oesterdiekhoff, Hermann Strasser: Heads of the Ruhr. 200 years of industrial history and structural change in the light of biographies . Klartext Verlag, Essen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8375-0036-3 , p. 26-31 .
  • Curt Römer: Industry pioneer . Lühe, Leipzig 1939.
  • Otto Schell:  Harkort, Friedrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 50, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1905, pp. 1-6.
  • Karl-Heinz Strothmann: Friedrich Harkort . Karl-Heinz Strothmann, Dortmund 1980.
  • Dietrich Thier: Friedrich Harkort. Everything cannot and must not stay the same . Sutton, Erfurt 2007, ISBN 978-3-86680-178-3 .
  • Jochen Lengemann : The German Parliament (Erfurt Union Parliament) from 1850. A manual: Members, officials, life data, parliamentary groups (= publications of the Historical Commission for Thuringia. Large series, Vol. 6). Urban & Fischer, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-437-31128-X , p. 155 ff.

Web links

Wikisource: Friedrich Harkort  - Sources and full texts
Commons : Friedrich Harkort  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Harkort, Friedrich. In: deutsche-biographie.de. Retrieved September 11, 2016 .
  2. ^ Railways. (Railroads.) ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Hermann, magazine by and for Westphalen, the lands between Weser and Maas , No. 26. Archived at the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL); Retrieved February 24, 2011.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lwl.org
  3. ^ Karl Bungardt: The odyssey of the teachers' social history of a state. One try. Kern & Birner, Frankfurt am Main 1959. p. 39 ff.
  4. ^ A. Phillips: The Reichstag elections from 1867 to 1883 . Louis Gerschel Verlag, Berlin 1883. p. 90.
  5. ↑ Friedrich Harkort: Comments on the obstacles to civilization and the emancipation of the lower classes. Verlag Diesterweg, Frankfurt am Main 1919. P. 23 ff.
  6. ↑ Printed in: Collection of Sources for the History of German Social Policy 1867 to 1914 , Section I: From the Founding of the Empire to the Imperial Social Message (1867–1881), Volume 8: Basic Issues of Social Policy in Public Discussion: Churches, Parties, Associations and Associations , edited by Ralf Stremmel, Florian Tennstedt and Gisela Fleckenstein, Darmstadt 2006, No. 127.
personal data
SURNAME Harkort, Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Harkort, Friedrich Wilhelm (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur and politician (DHP), MdR
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1793
PLACE OF BIRTH Westerbauer at Haspe
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 1880
Place of death Hombruch