Theodor von Möller

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Theodor Adolf Möller ( von Möller since 1905 ; * August 10, 1840 at Gut Kupferhammer near Brackwede ; † December 6, 1925 there ) was a German entrepreneur, politician and Prussian trade minister.

Theodor Adolf von Möller at the age of 65 (1905)

Family and education

Theodor Möller was the son of the entrepreneur and member of parliament Friedrich Möller (1805–1878); his mother was Henriette Friederike Möller (1808–1848). He did a business apprenticeship with his uncle Carl Woermann in Hamburg and then spent several years in England .

In 1872 he married Eleonore Tiemann (1853-1935) and had nine children. His daughter Magdalena (1883-1919) married the Protestant theologian Hans von Soden in Berlin in 1907 . From this marriage three grandsons of Möllers emerged, among them the ancient orientalist Wolfram von Soden . After Magdalena's early death, his daughter Hedwig (1877–1963) became Hans von Soden's second wife.

Entrepreneurial action

Together with his brother Karl Möller, Theodor Möller founded the company K. & Th. Möller GmbH in 1863. This was a machine factory, boiler shop and iron foundry. Until the First World War, the company was a leader in the manufacture of air filters and water turbines, among other things. After the death of their father, the brothers also took over their parents' leather factory, modernized it and expanded the production areas. Theodor Möller was a pioneer in coal distillation and the technical use of activated carbon . In 1881 he founded the corporation for coal distillation and was chairman of the supervisory board until 1901 and between 1909 and 1925. After his work as minister, he strongly advocated colonial participation in family businesses. In addition, Möller participated in the establishment of the first aircraft factories. In 1908 he became a member of the Supervisory Board of Commerzbank .

Industry stakeholders

In addition, he was also one of the leading economic functionaries in the Rhineland-Westphalian industry. Among other things, he was active in the Langnam Association . He sat on the committee from 1874 and was chairman between 1882 and 1901. Since 1876 he was also a member of the Central Association of German Industrialists . Between 1895 and 1901 he was a member of the CDI committee. In addition, Möller had been a member of the Bielefeld Chamber of Commerce since 1878 and its deputy chairman between 1880 and 1891.

politics

Between 1898 and 1901 Möller was a member of the Reichstag for the National Liberal Party . He was also a member of the Prussian House of Representatives from 1894 to 1901 , from which he had to resign on May 8, 1901 because of a promotion. Between 1890 and 1895 Möller was also a member of the Prussian State Council .

Between May 1901 and October 1905 Möller was the Prussian Minister of Commerce and handed over the management of the family business to his son. During his ministerial time, Möller campaigned for the nationalization of the Hibernia mine , which met with sharp criticism from the Rhenish-Westphalian entrepreneurs. After leaving this office, he was ennobled.

During the so-called " Hottentot elections of 1907 ", Möller was a colonial advocate and a direct competitor of Carl Severing , who was critical of this policy. After a turbulent election campaign, Möller was still just ahead in the first ballot, but lost the Bielefeld-Wiedenbrück constituency in the runoff election to Severing.

Möller had been a member of the Prussian manor house since 1914 . The Möller colliery was named after Möller .

Social policy action

The Möller brothers pursued a broad internal and external social policy. So in 1872 they founded the savings and advance payment association Kupferhammer, followed a year later by a health insurance company and in 1885 by a consumer institute. There were also support and reminder funds. In 1879 the two Möller brothers founded the Möller Foundation for the care of the elderly and the sick, which still exists today in memory of their father. This established the Möllerstift district hospital in 1901.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jochen Rath: December 6, 1925: The entrepreneur, politician and former minister Theodor Adolf von Möller dies on Gut Kupferhammer, Brackwede. In: Historical "RückKlick". Bielefeld City Archives , December 1, 2010, accessed on June 17, 2019 .
  2. ^ Digital Library - Munich Digitization Center. In: daten.digitale-sammlungen.de. 2010, accessed December 13, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Detlef Krause: The Commerz- und Disconto-Bank 1870-1920 / 23. Banking history as system history. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2004, ISBN 3-515-08486-X , p. 264. (digitized version)
  4. ↑ Bernhard Mann et al. (Ed.): Biographical manual for the Prussian House of Representatives. 1867-1918. (= Handbooks on the history of parliamentarism and political parties. Volume 3). Droste Verlag, Düsseldorf 1988, p. 274; for the election results see Thomas Kühne : Handbook of elections to the Prussian House of Representatives 1867–1918. Election results, election alliances and election candidates (= handbooks on the history of parliamentarism and political parties. Volume 6). Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-5182-3 , pp. 733-739.
  5. ↑ Jochen Rath: February 4, 1907: Carl Severing enters the Reichstag as the winner of the “Hottentot election”. In: Historical "RückKlick". Bielefeld City Archives , February 1, 2007, accessed on June 17, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Founding statutes from 1879 Retrieved from www.moellerstift.de on June 17, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Möller, Theodor von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Möller, Theodor Adolf (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur, politician and Prussian trade minister, MdR
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1840
PLACE OF BIRTH Gut Kupferhammer near Brackwede
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 1925
Place of death Gut Kupferhammer near Brackwede