Johann Conrad Fischer (metallurgist)

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Johann Conrad Fischer

Johann Conrad Fischer (born September 14, 1773 in Schaffhausen ; † December 26, 1854 there ) was a Swiss metallurgist and pioneer in cast steel production . The entrepreneur also held public offices; he was the first mayor of Schaffhausen. He was the founder of Georg Fischer AG .

biography

Johann Conrad Fischer was born on September 14, 1773 as the son of the entrepreneur Johann Conrad Fischer in Schaffhausen. First he attended high school in Schaffhausen. He then trained as a coppersmith and fire engine maker in his father's company . From 1792 to 1794 he traveled to Germany , Scandinavia and England . In 1794 he returned to Switzerland and in 1797 took over his father's company. In 1802 he bought a former mill in the Mühlental outside the city and set up a small foundry for bells and fire engines there. Around 1806 he was one of the first on the continent to produce what is known as crucible cast steel . After his first successes and the lifting of the continental blockade, Fischer went on a study trip to England in 1814 , and published his impressions in a diary . On his journey through Central England, he observed critically what was later to be known as the industrial revolution . Further trips to England, Austria, Germany and France followed. In the latter country, Fischer turned down an invitation from the Ministry of the Interior to settle there as an entrepreneur. He began to alloy the cast steel with other metals . In 1807 a low-alloy manganese steel was created , in 1814 the so-called yellow steel with added copper, in 1819 a silver steel alloy and in 1823 a steel with added chrome. The meteor steel obtained in 1824 with the addition of nickel brought Fischer orders from Austria, France, Germany and England. In 1827 he succeeded in producing malleable cast iron for malleable cast iron . His last alloy was a cast steel with a third copper content; Fischer called it Fischer-Metall . However, Fischer was no longer able to experience its market launch for railway axle sleeves. From 1809 onwards, the watch industry in the French Jura belonged to the widely spread customer base . Fischer did not think of processing the extracted steel himself except for file cutting.

Johann Conrad Fischer, who in 1797 married Catharina von Waldkirch, the daughter of Beat Wilhelm von Waldkirch , and with her the sons Johann Conrad III (1799–1830), Eduard (1801–1859), Wilhelm (1803–1882), Georg (1804 –1888) and Berthold (1807–1879) died at the age of 81 in Schaffhausen.

Monument to Johann Conrad Fischer opposite the Obertorturm in Schaffhausen

The family entrepreneur Fischer

Fischer remained life his patriarchal run small business faithful. He appeared more as an inventor than as an entrepreneur . In 1819 he helped set up a steel factory in La Roche near Montbéliard and later concluded license agreements with companies in London and Liège . Fischer had almost all of his inventions patented in Austria due to the good patent legislation there. He also had three steel foundries set up in Austria, namely in Hainfeld in 1827 , in Traisen in 1833 and in Salzburg in 1839 . The purpose of these company foundations was to secure the livelihood of his sons, to whom he entrusted the management of the company.

Public functions

On a political level, Fischer was active as a member of the Small Council from 1797 to 1798 , from 1801 to 1851 as a mine administrator for the exploitation of the stone ore pits , from 1828 to 1846 as a member of the Grand Council , in 1831 as a delegate to the Diet, from 1831 to 1835 as the first city ​​president Schaffhausen and until 1847 as a member of the city parliament. He also spoke competently in the press on current topics such as railway construction , coinage sovereignty , customs problems and constitutional revision. From 1817 until his death he was a member of the Natural Research Society of Switzerland. He also had numerous friends both in Switzerland and in many European countries with whom he was in correspondence . Fischer is considered to be one of the most distinctive personalities in Schaffhausen in the 19th century.

Fonts

  • Diary of a trip made in 1814 via Paris to London , Aarau 1816 ( digitized )
  • Diary of a second trip via Paris to London , Aarau 1826 ( digitized )
  • Fragments from the diary of three trips to London and some factory towns in England in the late years of 1825, 1826 and 1827 , Stuttgart and Tübingen in 1829
  • Notes on the journey via Paris to London, Leeds, Low-Moor, Sheffield, and back; in the summer of 1845 , Schaffhausen 1846 ( digitized version )
  • Diaries , edited by Karl Schib , 1951

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Conrad Fischer (1773–1854)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Fischer, Johann Conrad
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss metallurgist and pioneer in cast steel production
DATE OF BIRTH September 14, 1773
PLACE OF BIRTH Schaffhausen
DATE OF DEATH December 26, 1854
Place of death Schaffhausen