Leo Maximilian Baginski
Leo Maximilian Baginski , called Max Baginski (born June 7, 1891 in Kolmar i. Posen , German Empire, † March 19, 1964 in Locarno , Switzerland) was a German entrepreneur, inventor and advertising specialist. As such, he invented the split tablet, among other things . He donated the church of the Catholic parish of St. Katharina in Bad Soden am Taunus .
life and career
Max Baginski was one of seven children of the bricklayer and building contractor Nikolaus Konstantin Baginski (1855–1897) and his wife Constantia nee. Meyer (1860-1926). After the early death of the father, the family got into economic difficulties, which is why Baginski spent his school days with uncle and aunt in Schneidemühl . After school he completed a commercial apprenticeship in Berlin and joined the Scheik & Gladow company in 1908, where he patented his first invention, a universal bottle cap.
After only six months he resigned his position and founded his first company in Berlin, the later "Eta", to exploit the patent. In 1912 he took over the Dr. Ballowitz & Co. Baginski spent the First World War as a soldier in Russia, while his sisters Sophie, Anna and Hedwig continued the company. In 1919 the Prince of Thurn und Taxis appointed him a secret commissioner, and in 1920 he married Katharina Stanke (1900–1982). The marriage resulted in three daughters and one son.
The great success of another invention, a massage device called the "Punktroller", enabled Baginski to acquire a factory site in Berlin-Pankow in 1925. After winning the serologist Hans Much (1880–1932) as a partner in 1931 , Baginski founded the “Prof. Dr. med. Much'sche Preparate mbH ”, which produced Much developments on the Pankow site and was converted into a stock corporation in 1934. The split tablet was also created there in 1932 . Baginski's idea was to give the headache tablet a shape that can be felt in the dark. The gap proved to be the most favorable in terms of production technology.
In 1945 Baginski's company premises in the Soviet occupation zone were confiscated, he himself was arrested on charges of employing foreign workers and interned in the former Buchenwald concentration camp . There he made the vow that if he survived, he would build a church. Max Baginski was released in August 1948. Only Dr. Ballowitz & Co. escaped expropriation, but since it was in possession of all trademarks, Baginski was able to continue his entrepreneurial activity. He did that in Bad Soden am Taunus, where he had leased the mineral fountain management there since 1933. In 1951 the work of Prof. Dr. med. Much AG inaugurated. In 1955 Max Baginski fulfilled his vow and founded a new church for the Catholic community in Bad Soden. At the same time as the new church was built, Max Baginski also took over the costs for a new rectory and a kindergarten that bears his name today. The church was consecrated on September 1, 1957, to the patroness of his wife, Saint Catherine of Alexandria . The couple is buried in the church.
Before his death, Max Baginski was in charge of Prof. Dr. med Much AG to his son Jürgen, who transferred it to American Home Products Corp. in 1972 . sold. The group, which changed its name to Wyeth in 2002 , incorporated Much AG into its subsidiary Whitehall International . Since then, the split tablet has been marketed by Whitehall-Much GmbH in Münster. The Bad Soden location was closed in 1993 and the company headquarters relocated to Münster. After the takeover of the Wyeth Group, Whitehall-Much GmbH is a subsidiary of Pfizer .
Honors
- Iron Cross 2nd Class (1918)
- Austrian Cross of Honor with Swords (1918)
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Brussels (1927)
- Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class (1953)
- Knight's Cross of the New Year's Eve (1956)
- A street in Bad Soden am Taunus and one of the two Catholic day-care centers there are named after Max Baginski.
Web links
literature
- Christoph Friedrich: Split. Festschrift for the 75th anniversary , Whitehall-Much GmbH, Münster 2007
- Rudolf von Nolting: Privy Councilor LM Baginski and his work. According to private records and documents , Bad Soden a. Ts. 1993
- Joachim Kromer: Chronicle of the Catholic parish of St. Katharina Bad Soden a. Ts. , Materials for the history of Bad Soden / 20, Bad Soden 1996
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baginski, Leo Maximilian |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Baginski, Max |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 7, 1891 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kolmar i. Poznan , German Empire |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 19, 1964 |
| Place of death | Locarno |