Robert Eduard Loesener

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Eduard Loesener (born February 13, 1869 in Hamburg , † August 24, 1960 in Burg auf Fehmarn ) was a German shipowner and businessman .

Life

family

Robert Eduard Loesener was the son of the Hamburg merchant Friedrich Leopold Loesener (1834–1903) and Crisca Sloman (1841–1933), daughter of the Hamburg shipowner Robert Miles Sloman . From 1894 married to Sophie Elisabeth Godeffroy (called Elsa), and second marriage to Eleonore Hauswaldt (1898–1978), descendant of Johann Wilhelm Hauswaldt from Braunschweig. The first marriage remained childless, and the second marriage had two daughters.

Career

After attending secondary school , an apprenticeship as a businessman at Hengstenberg & Co. in Hamburg followed. After working for Albrecht & Co. in Liverpool , Loesener completed his service with the Hussar Regiment "Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands" (Hannoversches) No. 15 in Wandsbek . Finally he started in his grandfather's business, at the Hamburg shipping company Rob. M. Sloman & Co. oHG .

In addition to his work in the family-owned shipping company, Loesener was involved in various business ventures over the course of his life under the umbrella of Rob. M. Sloman or independently. These included the Deutsche Kohlen Depot Gesellschaft für supplying German steamers in the Levant, social trips (in cooperation with the travel agency Carl Stangen in Hamburg) and the Selbstfahrerunion eV, Germany's first car rental company, from which later CITAG and then Europcar emerged . He also held stakes in Union AG and in iron and copper mines near Follonica on the Italian coast. Characteristic for these ventures was the ongoing competition with Albert Ballin and HAPAG as well as the consistent involvement of the Godeffroy family .

For his efforts to transport the German troops back from China as part of the so-called China Expedition in 1897, he received the China Memorial Medal donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1902 and the fourth class Red Eagle Order in 1903 .

Tomb of the Loesener family in the Nienstedten cemetery in Hamburg

In addition to Erich Laeisz and Wilhelm Anton Riedemann, asset handbooks of that time regularly count Loesener to the leading financial and industrial aristocracy in Hamburg. The economic descent of Loesener and his numerous companies was accelerated significantly by the collapse of the so-called princely group / princely trust under the leadership of Christian Kraft zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen and Max Egon II zu Fürstenberg .

After the end of the First World War , Loesener withdrew to his extensive estate on the island of Fehmarn. He later shared his passion for seafaring mainly with his son-in-law, Lieutenant Captain Georg-Wilhelm Schulz , Commander U-124 .

Robert Eduard Loesener and his wife Sophie Elisabeth were buried in the Nienstedten cemetery in Hamburg. The gravestone is adorned with a relief that is based on Bertel Thorvaldsen's famous statue from the Copenhagen Vor Frue Kirke (by Danish architect Christian Hansen ).

Sailing yachts

Loesener also became known as an active sports sailor. Between 1895 and 1916 he bought about two sailing yachts a year, which he successfully sailed in national and international regattas. As a rule, his yachts were custom-made by well-known designers such as Linton Hope, William Fife III , George Lennox Watson , Charles Sibbick and Nathanael Herreshoff . In an exchange, Loesener took over the Vineta , which had been specially built for Kaiser Wilhelm II according to Watson's plans in Kiel. Other well-known yachts in his possession were the Sorceress (1894) by Linton Hope, the Tatters (1895/6) by Charles Sibbick and the Elizabeth I (1894/5) by William Fife. One of his later yachts is still sailing in Danish waters today.

Robert Loesener was a permanent member of the Imperial Yacht Club (KYC) and the North German Regatta Club (NRV) .

In order to continue to commemorate his goal of “constantly giving yacht designers in Germany new ideas for new builds”, the honorary award of the Friends of Classic Yachts (FKY) was donated in 2005. Since then, the prize has been awarded annually to a person who has made a particular public contribution to the appreciation of classic yachts.

literature

  • G. Hoffmann: The house on the Elbchaussee: The story of a shipowner's family. Piper, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-492-23047-4 .
  • Hildegard von Marchthaler: The Slomans. History of a Hamburg shipowner and merchant family. Edited by R. Sloman. 2nd Edition. Christians, Hamburg 1939, DNB 575538236 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ G. Hoffmann: The house on the Elbchaussee: The story of a shipowner's family. 2000.
  2. ↑ z. E.g. E. Neckarsulmer: The old and the new wealth. 1925. See also G. Hoffmann: The house on the Elbchaussee: The story of a shipowner's family. 2000, p. 451.
  3. ^ W. Schulz: Above the wet abyss: As a commander and flotilla chief in the submarine war. 1994.
  4. ↑ http://www.uboat.net/men/schulz.htm and en: Georg-Wilhelm Schulz
  5. ↑ W. Johannsen: Who they were where they rest. A guide to notable graves at the Nienstedten cemetery. 1992.
  6. ↑ E. Maaß: Rob. E. Loesener and his yachts. In: Friends of Classic Yachts. 2002.
  7. ↑ Friends of Classic Yachts. on: fky.org
personal data
SURNAME Loesener, Robert Eduard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hamburg shipowner
DATE OF BIRTH February 13, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 1960
Place of death Hamburg