Victor von Schönberger

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Victor von Schönberger (born August 17, 1844 in Prague , Austrian Empire as Victor Schönberger ; † July 26, 1893 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary ) was an Austrian export merchant and trade representative.

He is the son of the renowned Prague old town merchant Franz Anton Schönberger (1811–1886) and the brother of the businessman and diplomat Richard Schönberger (1846–1921), as well as the export merchant and trade representative Hugo Schönberger (1838–1900).

Life

Victor Schönberger was born in Prague on August 17, 1844 and completed a commercial apprenticeship after attending secondary school and the Prague Commercial Academy , which was only founded in 1856 and was the first academy of its kind in what was then Austria. This led him first to his father's business in Prague's old town and then from 1860 to 1868 to the various trading houses in London and Hamburg . When he was just establishing himself in Prague, he was appointed in 1868 by the then Minister of Commerce Ignaz von Plener as a “professional companion and reporter” for the metal industry, then for haberdashery on the Austrian expeditions to East Asia and South America under the direction of Admiral Anton Freiherr von Petz . In doing so, he proved himself particularly in the implementation of the Austrian goods exhibition in Shanghai and Yokohama and was able to establish international contacts from which his brothers also benefited in some cases. Through his diverse contacts with the countries and markets of the Pacific region, especially Siam and the Sandwich Islands , he has received numerous domestic and foreign honors over the years and he has been decorated with Siamese and Hawaiian medals. In addition, from 1871 he took over the consular representation of the Kingdom of Hawaii in Austria, where he later came to prominence during the visit of the then Hawaiian King Kalākaua .

In addition, Schönberger worked on the official expedition report published by Karl von Scherzer ( Expert report on the Austro-Hungarian expedition to Siam, China and Japan (1868–1871). , 1872, 2nd edition under a changed title 1873) with and supported his Experiences in the export and commission business "Gebrüder Schönberger", which he ran with his brother Hugo from 1870 onwards, which benefited above all from orders from the Siamese government (including alleged arms exports) and probably also from his overseas contacts. For the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873, at which his brother Hugo represented the interests of El Salvador , Victor Schönberger appeared as exhibition commissioner for Siam and Hawaii and also worked for the Chinese customs authorities during this world exhibition. Due to his excellent experience, especially in the field of trade with East Asia, he was appointed Austrian general commissioner for the world exhibitions in Sydney in 1879/80 and in Melbourne in 1880/81 . His most important agendas consisted in the representation to the Australian authorities, in the organizational support of the Austrian exhibition contributions, as well as in the commercial representation of those Austrian exhibitors who did not provide their own commercial representation.

Although he mainly relied on his own financial means, he managed to represent Austrian industry in an extremely advantageous manner, which in the following period led to larger orders. In the exhibition report compiled by him and published in 1882, the report on the international world exhibition in Sydney and Melbourne 1879-81 together with a historical, geographical and statistical sketch of the colonies of Australia , he was also able to provide a comprehensive and precise representation of the geographical, but especially the convey the realities of Australia's trade policy. He let his own point of view flow into it and processed it in detail statistical material, whereby he also granted important insights into the economic structures of the Australian colonies at that time. For his services at the two world exhibitions, Schönberger, who was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1872 and the Commander's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order in 1873 , was proposed for elevation to the Austrian nobility . The admission into the nobility then took place in 1892, a few months before his death, after which he was allowed to call himself Victor von Schönberger. For the World's Columbian Exposition, which took place in Chicago in 1893, Schönberger was also scheduled to serve as a juror, but had to decline this engagement for health reasons. Victor von Schönberger died on July 26th, 1893 at the age of 48 in Vienna while the world exhibition was still going on in Chicago .

Works

  • together with Karl von Scherzer : Expert report on the Austro-Hungarian expedition to Siam, China and Japan (1868–1871). , 1872, 2nd edition under changed title 1873
  • Report on the international world exhibition in Sydney and Melbourne 1879–81 together with a historical, geographical and statistical sketch of the colonies of Australia. , 1882

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schönberger, Victor von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Schönberger, Victor (name until 1892)
DATE OF BIRTH 17th August 1844
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague , Austrian Empire
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 1893
Place of death Vienna , Austria-Hungary