George Armitstead

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George Armitstead

George Armitstead (* October 27 . Jul / 8 November 1847 greg. In Riga , † November 17 jul. / November 30, 1912 greg. In Riga) was a Baltic German engineer, entrepreneur and the fourth mayor of Riga.

Life

origin

George Armitsteads was born into a German-Baltic-English family. His grandfather came from England and had settled in Riga as a merchant. From 1796, Riga was the capital of the Russian Baltic Sea governorate of Livonia and thus belonged to the Russian Empire . So George Armitstead was born a Russian citizen. His father, James Armitstead (1826–1879), was also a merchant in Riga and head of the stock exchange committee. In his will he bequeathed 361,280 rubles to the city of Riga for charitable purposes. This is how the children's hospital named after the founder was built.

Training and activities

In 1868 Armitstead finished his engineering studies at the Riga Polytechnic . There he was one of the founders of the German student association Fraternitas Baltica . He first continued his studies in Zurich and Oxford and then worked in Russia in railway construction . Returning to Riga, he became the owner of a brick factory and in 1880 co-owner and manager of a bone meal factory in Riga, later he headed the Dünaburg-Vitebsk Railway as director and from 1896 the joint stock company of the flourishing Baltic cellulose factory in Schlock near Riga (today: Sloka ). He had a keen interest in agriculture and bought the Neu-Mocken manor (west of Tukums ). In 1899 he was responsible for the IV Central Baltic Agricultural Exhibition in Riga. Armitstead was a member of the Baltic Constitutional Party .

mayor

His proven economic and organizational skills prompted the Riga city administration to elect George Armitstead as Lord Mayor in 1901. At the beginning of his term of office, the preparation of the 700th anniversary with a large economic exhibition was a first challenge.

During his tenure, Riga was significantly shaped by him. He initiated the construction of various buildings that still shape the city today, such as the Latvian National Art Museum , the Latvian National Theater (until 1917: Russian Theater) was completed at the beginning of his term of office. He made a great contribution to the expansion of the waterworks, the electricity company and the tram.

As mayor, the development of the school system was particularly important to him, especially the Latvian elementary schools. Between 1908 and 1912, 14 schools for German and Latvian students were established. His goal was the abolition of school fees.

Armitstead campaigned for the establishment of a modern Western European welfare system. In 1907, for example, he founded the “Society for Communal Social Policy”, which served to spread this concern. A new hospital was built, a school doctor system was introduced, and outpatient departments for elementary school students were set up. A public library with a reading room was opened in 1906.

Honors

The Representation of the City of Riga awarded George Armitstead honorary citizenship for his services to the city, the Tsar the hereditary title of nobility.

With the financial means of a local businessman, the Armitstead memorial was erected near the opera in 2006 , which was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II of England .

literature

  • N. [Nikolai] Carlberg: George Armitstead as a social politician . In: Baltic Monthly Journal , vol. 75 (1913), Issue 3, pp. 161–177 ( digitized version of the Latvian National Library ).
  • George Armitstead . In: Heinrich Bosse, Arved Freiherr von Taube (Hrsg.): Baltic heads. 24 life pictures from eight centuries of German activity in the Baltic countries . Baltischer Verlag, Bovenden near Göttingen, 2nd edition 1958, pp. 116–122.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e George Armitstead . In: Baltic heads . Baltischer Verlag, Bovenden near Göttingen, 2nd edition 1958, pp. 116–122.
  2. ↑ Ulrike von Hirschhausen : The limits of commonality. Germans, Latvians, Russians and Jews in Riga 1860–1914 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-525-35153-4 , pp. 110 and 112.
  3. ↑ Vanda Zarina: Rīgas domnieki laikmeta līkločos . Rīgas dome, Riga 2019, ISBN 978-9984-31-148-7 , p. 19 (Latvian).
  4. ↑ Ulrike von Hirschhausen: The limits of commonality. Germans, Latvians, Russians and Jews in Riga 1860–1914 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, p. 110.
  5. ↑ Pils vēsture (History of the Castle), accessed August 17, 2018.
  6. ↑ a b Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on George Armitstead. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
  7. ↑ a b Rigasche city head George Armitstead † , Rigasche newspaper of November 20, 1912.
  8. ↑ Ulrike von Hirschhausen: The limits of commonality. Germans, Latvians, Russians and Jews in Riga 1860–1914 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, p. 113.
  9. ↑ Ulrike von Hirschhausen: The limits of commonality. Germans, Latvians, Russians and Jews in Riga 1860–1914 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2006, p. 112.
  10. ^ Nikolai Carlberg: George Armitstead as a social politician . In: Baltic Monthly Journal , vol. 75 (1913), Issue 3, pp. 161–177, here p. 165.
  11. ^ Nikolai Carlberg: George Armitstead as a social politician . In: Baltic monthly magazine , vol. 75 (1913), issue 3, pp. 161–177, here p. 166.
  12. ^ Nikolai Carlberg: George Armitstead as a social politician . In: Baltic Monthly Journal , vol. 75 (1913), Issue 3, pp. 161–177, here p. 168.
  13. ↑ State visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to Latvia
personal data
SURNAME Armitstead, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian engineer, entrepreneur and the fourth mayor of Riga
DATE OF BIRTH November 8, 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH Riga
DATE OF DEATH November 30, 1912
Place of death Riga