Gustav Michels
Gustav Michels (born July 21, 1836 in Cologne ; † July 24, 1909 there ) was a German businessman and president of the Cologne Chamber of Commerce .
Life
Gustav Michels came from a large bourgeois family in Cologne. This operated the most important wool and cloth trade in the city. The father was the businessman Peter Michels (1801–1870), who was also a member of the first chamber of the Prussian state parliament . The mother was Constanze, b. van Halen (1810-1881).
He joined his father's company first as an employee and later as a partner. He used this economic basis for further economic and political action. Michels co-founded Rhenanina Insurance AG in 1872 as one of the first accident insurance companies after the introduction of the Reich Liability Act . He was also a member of the company's board of directors. He became chairman of the supervisory board of the A. Schaffhausen Bank Association and of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Bodenkreditbank. He was also a member of numerous other supervisory boards.
Since 1875 he was a member of the Cologne Chamber of Commerce . In 1880 he became vice chairman and in 1891 president of the institution. Since 1878 he represented the interests of the chamber in the standing committee of the German Trade Conference .
Michels was also a member of the Cologne city council from 1878. Since 1888 he was a member of the Rhenish Provincial Parliament . Politically, he was nationally liberal. In 1901 he was appointed to the Prussian manor house .
He worked on the Rhine Navigation Commission. In addition, he was involved in the deconsolidation treaty of 1905 between the city of Cologne and Prussia. He also influenced the design of German insurance law. Michels supported Gustav von Mevissen's initiative to found a commercial college in Cologne and later became a member of the institution's board of trustees.
Michels died in 1909 three days after his 73rd birthday. He was buried in the family grave in Cologne's Melaten cemetery .
literature
- Frauke Schönert-Röhlk: Gustav Michels. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 17, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1994, ISBN 3-428-00198-2 , p. 450 ( digitized version ).
- Frauke Schönert-Röhlk: Peter Michels (1801-1870) and Gustav Michels (1836-1909). In: Cologne entrepreneurs in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. (= Rheinisch-Westfälische Wirtschaftsbiographien, Volume 12). Aschendorff, Münster 1986, pp. 79-95.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Tomb in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved June 1, 2020.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Michels, Gustav |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Cologne entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 21, 1836 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cologne |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 24, 1909 |
| Place of death | Cologne |