Richard Ernst Abundius Avenarius

Richard Ernst Abundius Avenarius (born April 9, 1840 in Koblenz , † February 1, 1917 in Gau-Algesheim ) was a German chemist and entrepreneur .

Family and youth

Richard Avenarius was born on April 9, 1840 in Koblenz into one of the city's leading families. His parents were Amalie (nee Maehler, 1813–1892) and Albert Avenarius (1813–1871), who was the civilian garrison administration director in Koblenz and later in Mainz . His maternal grandfather was Abundius Maehler (1777-1853), who was Lord Mayor of Koblenz from 1818 to 1847 .

The family later moved from the capital of the Prussian Rhine Province to the Grand-Ducal Hessian town of Mainz, where he graduated from high school in 1860 . He then did his military service, from which he retired after an accident, and then studied chemistry . In 1866 Richard Avenarius took part in the German War as a Landwehr officer in the Prussian Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39 and in the Franco- German War in 1870/71 . He was awarded the Iron Cross and promoted to captain before taking his leave as an invalid in 1871 .

In 1867 Richard Avenarius married his wife Angelika (née Maeckler, 1839–1910), with whom he was married until her death. Their only child Albert died in childhood in 1879. In 1894, in memory of their son, the couple donated the Albertus Hospital in Gau-Algesheim, which is still in existence today in a different form.

Companies

In 1869 Richard and his brother Carl Avenarius founded the company Gebr. Avenarius in Gau-Algesheim . They initially operated an already existing boiler shop for the production of pressure cookers and steam washing kettles, among other things . They later set up a creosote facility for impregnating wood. In 1876, the company launched the wood preservative Carbolineum , which became a great commercial success. The Avenarius brothers founded branches in Berlin , Hamburg and Cologne as well as further factories in Adlershof near Berlin, Amstetten in Lower Austria , Pressburg in Austria-Hungary and Saint Petersburg in Russia . A factory with branches in the USA, Canada and Mexico was also built in Milwaukee , USA .

In 1908, the company launched the liquid metal cleaning agent GAGA, which was named after the first letters of the company Avenarius , Gau-Algesheim and which was also very successful.

Social Commitment

Richard Avenarius was one of the leading men in the National Liberal Party in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. In 1902 he was awarded the honorary title of Kommerzienrat and the Cross of Honor of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Merit for his services .

In 1908, Avenarius took over the chairmanship of the Rheinhessischer Bismarckverein and was thus significantly involved in the construction of the Bismarck tower on the Westerberg near Gau-Algesheim and Ingelheim am Rhein , which was inaugurated in 1912. As early as 1909, Richard Avenarius had a lookout point with a refuge built on Westerberg near Gau-Algesheim, which has been called Richardshöhe since 1911.

Last years of life

In 1914 Richard Avenarius adopted his nephew Heinrich Herborn (1873–1955), a doctor of chemistry who had worked in the company since 1898 and had been a partner since 1911 . In 1917 Heinrich Avenarius-Herborn became the sole owner of the Avenarius brothers .

Richard Avenarius died on February 1, 1917 at the age of 76 in Gau-Algesheim and was buried there.

literature

• Joachim Junker: Commerzienrat Richard Avenarius died 100 years ago: chemical entrepreneur from Gau-Algesheim , in: Mainz-Bingen district (ed.): Heimat-Jahrbuch 2017 , pp. 256-259

Web links

• Richard Avenarius on the website of the Carl Brilmayer Society
• Richard Avenarius in the Rhineland-Palatinate personal database