Heinrich Eduard von Lade

Eduard von Lade 1817–1904

Heinrich Eduard Lade , from 1877 von Lade , from 1901 Freiherr von Lade (also Ladé , born February 24, 1817 in Geisenheim im Rheingau ; † August 7, 1904 there ) was a German banker , arms dealer, gardener , plant breeder and amateur astronomer .

Live and act

Heinrich Eduard Lade was born in Geisenheim am Rhein in the Palais Ostein as the son of a wealthy wine merchant. He worked as a banker and exporter in Hamburg and Paris. As a result, as well as through the arms trade, he quickly became very wealthy and was able to retire from working life at the age of 44.

Heinrich Eduard von Lade was a multifaceted person of his time. In addition to his professional activities, he was very interested in horticulture and viticulture, made a name for himself as an astronomer and also worked politically as a diplomat for the Italian states and the North German Confederation .

In 1861 he built the Villa Monrepos in Geisenheim and surrounded it with extensive parks. The rosarium alone comprised 800 different varieties with 3,000 rose bushes. Here he also dealt with the breeding and cultivation of fruit and wine. The varieties 'Von Lades Späte Knorpelkirsche', 'Von Lades Späte Mirabelle', 'Grün Zwetschge von Monrepos' and 'Rote Zwetschge von Monrepos' were named after him, and 'Von Lades Butterbirne' was named after him. All of these varieties were described in the Illustrirten Handbuch der Obstkunde . The management of his pomological gardens was temporarily with Hermann Goethe . In 1872, thanks to Eduard von Lade's long-standing efforts with the Prussian King Wilhelm I and Imperial Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the Royal Prussian Institute for Fruit and Viticulture, the research institute for horticulture and viticulture that still exists today, was founded in Geisenheim by decree .

Villa Monrepos with park and observatory

Villa Monrepos in spring 2008

In 1886 von Lade installed an observatory on the central central building of Villa Monrepos in order to be able to better devote himself to his studies of moon mapping ( selenography ). The telescope installed there is said to have had a considerable size. In 1897 he initiated the creation of a moon globe , which on one side depicted the physical structure of the moon as a relief and on the other side bore the names of the craters. (Note: moon maps of the time only showed the visible side of the moon). The observatory was badly damaged by bombs towards the end of the Second World War and was removed after the war.

In his life, von Lade repeatedly had to accept severe blows of fate. His wife (1876) and his three children died very early. In 1874 Emperor Wilhelm I visited him in his Villa Monrepos and personally visited the newly founded educational establishment. In 1877 he was raised to the hereditary Prussian nobility and in 1901, at the age of 85, he was awarded the title of baron . The city of Geisenheim made him its first honorary citizen on the occasion of his 84th birthday on February 27, 1902. Eduard von Lade died in his hometown Geisenheim in 1904. He bequeathed his fortune in the form of a foundation to the teaching and research institute he founded. He is buried in Geisenheim in the family mausoleum in the old cemetery.

Monument to Eduard von Lades in the entrance area of ​​the main building of the Geisenheim research institute that he founded .

The Ark Crater on the moon and the asteroid 340 Eduarda were named after him. On the site of the Geisenheim Research Station, a memorial commemorates the founder Eduard von Lade.

See also

• List of pomologists

Web links

Commons : Heinrich Eduard von Lade  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

• Franz Jahn , Eduard Lucas , Johann Georg Conrad Oberdieck : Illustrirtes Handbuch der Obstkunde in 9 volumes and some additional volumes, 1859-1883, the pomological standard work of the 19th century.
• Wilhelm Oncken : Freiherr Eduard von Lade and his country house on the Rhine , Berlin 1904. ( digitized version ).
• Paul Claus: Geisenheimer memories. (1817-1972). Eduard von Lade and the teaching and research institute (= contributions to the culture and history of the city of Geisenheim. Vol. 8, ZDB -ID 2240236-6 ). Geisenheim Cultural Monuments Funding Association, Geisenheim 2005.
• Helmut Hans Dittrich:  Ark, Eduard Freiherr von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-428-00194-X , p. 382 f. ( Digitized version ).