Theodor Fleitmann

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Theodor Fleitmann
Grave of Theodor Fleitmann

Franz Friedrich Theodor Fleitmann (born August 20, 1828 in Schwerte ; † October 25, 1904 in Iserlohn ) was a German chemist and entrepreneur .

family

Fleitmann was the son of the businessman Theodor Friedrich Fleitmann (* 1796, † 1860). His maternal grandparents were the Duisberg and Overweg merchant families from Iserlohn. He married in Elberfeld in 1856 Maria Winkhaus (1838-1919), the daughter of the Elberfeld silk manufacturer Friedrich Winkhaus (1791-1854). The marriage resulted in 3 sons and 2 daughters, including Richard Fleitmann (1860–1923), later General Director of the United German Nickel Works in Schwerte.

Life

After attending the provincial trade school in Hagen , he began studying chemistry in 1845. He studied in Giessen and Berlin . From 1849 to 1851 Fleitmann was Justus von Liebig's private assistant . In 1850 he was (phil Dr. Nat.) Doctor of science doctorate .

For health reasons, he gave up his university career in 1851 and moved to Iserlohn. Where he led the nickel refinery Neusilberwarenfabrik Herbers, Witte & Co . In 1861 Fleitmann acquired the nickel works and together with Heinrich Witte founded the nickel and cobalt factory Fleitmann & Witte on the Iserlohner Heide in Iserlohn , which manufactured blanks for the first German nickel coin of the German Empire in 1871 . A year earlier, the production facility had been relocated to Schwerte. The nickel change became a household name as Fleitmännchen .

In 1877 Theodor Fleitmann succeeded in making nickel rollable and forgeable. Another invention was the plating of thin nickel sheet on steel sheet. With his inventions he created the basis for the later nickel industry.

In 1898 Theodor Fleitmann was made an honorary citizen of the city of Iserlohn. Three years later he withdrew from the company, which had grown to over 1,000 employees, and handed it over to his sons Richard (* 1860; † 1923) and Theodor Fleitmann (* 1861; † 1945). 1901 awarded him the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg the honorary doctorate . He was a member of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors .

Theodor Fleitmann died of a stroke at the age of 76. The grave of his family in the main cemetery in Iserlohn is a listed building .

Works

  • The position of beryllium and magnesium in the periodic system . Bonn 1927.

literature

  • Paul Grote:  Fleitmann, Franz Friedrich Theodor. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 237 ( digitized version ).
  • Hermann Holtmeier: Distinctive heads from the Märkisches Kreis . Hans-Herbert Mönnig Verlag, Iserlohn 1997, ISBN 3-922885-89-6 .
  • H. Kraas: pedigree of the royal. Prussia. Commercial Council Dr. phil. et Dr. Ing. E. h. Franz Friedr. Theodor Fleitmann . In: The Märker . tape 14 , no. 12 , 1965, p. 245 .
  • Wilhelm Schulte: Theodor Fleitmann . The career of the founder of the nickel industry. In: The Märker . tape 9 , no. 10 , 1960, p. 247 .
  • Wilhelm Schulte: Theodor Fleitmann (1828–1904) . In: Rheinisch-Westfälische Wirtschaftsbiographien . tape 8 . Aschendorff, Münster 1962, p. 56-74 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ University archive Gießen: inventory, p. 106 (pdf; 5.5 MB)
  2. ↑ archive.nrw.de: Vereinigte Deutsche Nickel-Werke AG, formerly Westfälisches Nickelwalzwerk Fleitmann, Witte & Co.
  3. ^ Ruhrtalmuseum: history and people
  4. ↑ Members of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors 1857
personal data
SURNAME Fleitmann, Theodor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fleitmann, Friedrich Theodor; Fleitmann, Franz Friedrich Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chemist and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH August 20, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH Swords
DATE OF DEATH October 25, 1904
Place of death Iserlohn