Friedrich Thyssen

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Johann Friedrich Thyssen (born October 1, 1804 in Aachen , † May 25, 1877 in Eschweiler ) was an entrepreneur and local politician in Eschweiler and the father of the industrialist August Thyssen . He founded the Thyssen entrepreneurial family .

origin

Thyssen's great-grandfather, Isaak Lambert Thyssen (1685–1773), went to nearby Aachen because of the fire on his estate near Schlottfeld , where he was a municipal hay knife from 1740, supervised urban pastures and was responsible for fire protection in the barns. Isaak Lambert's son Nikolaus (1727–1778) became a baker and chief master of the local guild. Like his father, he had a trusting relationship with his colleagues and with the citizens of Aachen, was a member of the town council and, as a bread market master, carried out quality controls on baked bread, checking its weight and quality. Nikolaus' son of the same name Nikolaus Thyssen (1763–1814), the father Friedrich Thyssen, also learned the bakery trade, then joined the city of Aachen as assistant secretary and organized the festivities for the baptism of Napoleon I's son in 1811 Married in 1792 to Christine Nellessen (1766–1818), who came from a respected entrepreneurial family in Aachen and soon took part in the Aachen fire insurance company and the wire factory company in Eschweiler .

Life

youth

Thyssen had to prematurely break off attending the higher citizen school in Aachen because his father died when he was ten, his mother when he was 14. As a result, he was forced to become independent and completed a commercial apprenticeship, namely a banking apprenticeship with his uncle Mathias Wergivosse .

independence

Thyssen founded Germany's first wire rod factory in March 1822 with the Aachen manufacturers Monheim , Friedrich Englerth , Ludwig Beissel and Jacob Springsfeld in the form of a stock corporation under the name Draht-Fabrik-Compagnie in Aachen, and from 1834 to 1859 was director of technical and commercial management of the company. In 1865 the name was changed to Eschweiler Drahtfabrik Compagnie and the headquarters moved to Eschweiler. In the middle of the 19th century he founded a private banking business in Eschweiler.

Principles

For Thyssen, work was the focus of his life: he called the workers in early in the morning with the factory bell, opened the lock on the Indebach and started the flywheel to drive the machines. He was shaped by thrift, a sense of duty and concern for the well-being of the company.

In larger circles

Thyssen belonged to the shareholders of the Metallurgische Gesellschaft zu Stolberg , from which, on the initiative of John Cockerill, the joint stock company for mining, lead and zinc production emerged . In addition to Thyssen and Cockerill u. a. Ferdinand Pirlot , Barthold Suermondt and the Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. were involved.

Civic engagement

Thyssen acted as the city councilor of Eschweiler and was a member of the Catholic church council - for several years also as chairman. He did not see industrial capitalism one-sidedly from the perspective of the entrepreneur and also consciously faced the problems of urbanization and the social question .

Private contacts

In Thyssen's house u. a. Barthold Suermondt, the entrepreneur Albert Poensgen and Thyssen's friend Georg Victor Lynen.

family

On October 1, 1838, in Aachen, he married his first cousin Katharina Thyssen (born September 28, 1814 in Aachen, † February 11, 1888 in Düsseldorf), the daughter of the Aachen specialty goods dealer Isaak Thyssen, who was devoted to art and education. The marriage resulted in a total of nine children: Maria (1839–1912), Luise (1840–1902), August (1842–1926), Joseph (1844–1915), Balbina (1846–1935), Julius (1848–1849) , Wilhelmine (1850–1858), Friedrich (1854–1916) and Therese (1860–1920).

Afterlife

His eldest son August named the Friedrich Thyssen colliery in Duisburg after Thyssen .

literature

  • Stephan Wegener (ed.): August and Josef Thyssen. The family and their company . Klartext , Essen 2004, ISBN 3-89861-312-7
  • Jörg Lesczenski: August Thyssen 1842-1926. Life world of a business citizen. Klartext, Essen 2008, ISBN 978-3-89861-920-2 .
  • Stephan Wegener (ed.): The Thyssen siblings. A century of family history. Klartext, Essen 2013, ISBN 978-3-8375-0894-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Jörg Lesczenski: August Thyssen 1842–1926 . 1st edition. Klartext , Essen 2008, p. 29
  2. ↑ a b c Lesczenski 2008, p. 30
  3. ↑ a b c d Lesczenski 2008, p. 32
  4. ↑ Lesczenski 2008, p. 33, after Wessel: Bürgerliche Dynastiebildung , p. 12
  5. ↑ a b Lesczenski 2008, p. 34
  6. ↑ Lesczenski 2008, p. 34, based on Lutz Hatzfeld: preliminary studies , p. 9
  7. ↑ Lesczenski 2008, p. 33
personal data
SURNAME Thyssen, Friedrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thyssen, Johann Friedrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur and father of August Thyssen
DATE OF BIRTH October 1, 1804
PLACE OF BIRTH Aachen
DATE OF DEATH May 25, 1877
Place of death Eschweiler