Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian

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Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian (born March 4, 1830 in Basel ; † February 17, 1917 there ) was a Swiss dyes and drugs manufacturer and politician.

Life

Basler Bandfabrik share, in front of Trüdinger & Cons. dated October 1, 1897 with the original signature of Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian

His parents were Karl Geigy (1798–1861) and his first wife Sophie, b. Price work. His grandfather, Hieronymus Geigy (1771–1830) was the son of Johann Rudolf Geigy-Gemuseus (1733–1793), who had started trading in materials, chemicals, dyes and all kinds of medicines in Basel, and JR Geigy (now Novartis ) founded. After high school he did a three-year apprenticeship in his father's company and then spent five years as a businessman in France, England and India until he joined the family business in 1854. In 1855 he married Maria Merian (1837–1912), the daughter of the Basel businessman, silk ribbon manufacturer and councilor Samuel Merian . Their daughters Maria (* 1856) and Louise (* 1858) married the bankers Friedrich Zahn and Alfons Ehinger respectively . Her sons Johann Rudolf (* 1862) and Karl (* 1866) also became manufacturers. His grandson was the tropical medicine specialist Rudolf Geigy .

In 1857, together with the authorized signatory Johann Jakob Müller-Pack, he acquired a piece of land on the Riehenteich (Rosental district), on which he built a colored wood and a color extraction plant. Two years later, the two of them start producing synthetic fuchsin. From 1857 to 1864 he served as civil judge in Basel and then until 1879 as appellate judge. In 1863, together with his brother-in-law Alphons Koechlin and some private bankers, he founded the Basler Handelsbank ( taken over by the Swiss Bank Corporation in 1945 ), of which he was Chairman of the Board of Directors from 1893 to 1913.

As a supporter of the Juste Milieu , he was elected to the Grand Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt in 1864 . In the same year, he took over all Müller-Pack factories in accordance with environmental regulations. In 1876 he was a co-founder of the Basel Chamber of Commerce (1891–98 its President) and from 1882–98 a member of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce. 1876–78 he had a large manor house built in the Bäumlihof . After the parliamentary elections in 1878 he was a member of the National Council until 1887 , where he enjoyed a reputation for complete independence and the greatest professional competence. After Alfred Escher's death he was considered one of the most influential people in economic matters. He also sat on the boards of the Gotthard Railway and the Swiss Central Railway . In 1880 he acquired the Swiss border post , which he made into an economically liberal newspaper. In November 1890, he advocated union organization of the workforce. In November 1886 he invited Peter Theophil Bühler to the first meeting of the alcohol commission, and in the following year he had a decisive influence on the organization of the alcohol monopoly.

After BASF registered the first patent for indigo synthesis in 1880 , around 1888 he commissioned the self-taught researcher Traugott Sandmeyer to search for a simpler process for indigo synthesis. In 1898 he founded a production facility in Grenzach , Germany. In 1901 the company was converted into a stock corporation and renamed JR Geigy AG in 1914 . His main work was the completion of the chemical company. He led the dyestuff shop and extract factory for natural dyes into the industrial age with aniline dyes , large-scale production and worldwide distribution.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Philipp Sarasin : Geigy [-Merian], Johann Rudolf. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  2. ↑ http://www.stroux.org/patriz_f/stQV_f/GgA_f.pdf
  3. ↑ Geigy-Merian, Johann Rudolf on arCHeco (directory of * Johann Rudolf Geigy-Merian in the online archive catalog of the State Archives Basel- Stadt economic holdings in archives in Switzerland and Liechtenstein)
  4. ↑ http://www.stroux.org/patriz_f/stQV_f/GgD_f.pdf
  5. ↑ Martin Meier: Müller [-Pack], Johann Jakob. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  6. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 12, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.novartis.ch
  7. ^ Hermann Wichers : Koechlin, Alphons. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  8. ↑ Jürg Simonett: Bühler, Peter Theophil. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
  9. ↑ http://www.brainworker.ch/Martin-Herzog/Basel/geschichte/basler_chemie.htm
personal data
SURNAME Geigy-Merian, Johann Rudolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss dye and drug manufacturer
DATE OF BIRTH March 4, 1830
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH February 17, 1917
Place of death Basel