Walter Kohler senior

Walter Kohler senior (1905)

Walter Jodok Kohler (born March 3, 1875 in Sheboygan , Wisconsin , †  April 21, 1940 ) was an American industrialist and politician of Austrian descent and held the office of the 26th governor of the state of Wisconsin from 1929 to 1931  .

Early years

Kohler was the son of Austrian immigrants . His father John Michael Kohler was the founder of the Kohlerwerke ( Kohler Company ) in 1873 . The company manufactured industrial goods such as tiles, furniture, machines, generators and water pipes. The coal mills grew to be one of the most important industrial facilities in Wisconsin.

At the age of 15, the young Walter Kohler left school to work in his father's company. Over the years he worked his way up and, after his father's death in 1900, took over the management of the company. He initially shared this with his brothers Carl and Robert, but after Robert's death he was sole manager of the company from 1905 to 1937. He then worked as chairman of the supervisory board until his death. The company expanded steadily under his leadership. Kohler was also involved in other businesses such as a bank in Sheboygan and was on the boards of several other companies.

The forest house in Kohler Village

Kohler Village

Two years before his death, his father, John Michael Kohler, bought property west of Sheboygan and built the Kohler Company's new production facilities there. In 1912, Walter Kohler decided to prevent an architectural mishmash in front of his company gates and to create a well-planned and attractive industrial model city for Kohler employees - called Kohler Village (map: ⊙ ) - on the west side of the factory premises . In 1916, the German-born architect and town planner Werner Hegemann (1881–1936) was commissioned to design and build the estate, which received much attention in the media.

In 1929, Kohler had the so-called Wälderhaus , a copy of John M. Kohler's parents' house in Schnepfau (Vorarlberg) built on the edge of the model settlement by the architect Kaspar Albrecht , who came from the Bregenzerwald .

politics

Political rise

In addition to his business career, Kohler also embarked on a political career. He was a member of the Republican Party and one of the electors in the 1916 presidential election . Between 1918 and 1924 he sat on the Board of Directors of the University of Wisconsin . In 1928 he was elected the new governor of his state.

Governor of wisconsin

Kohler took up his new office on January 7, 1929. During his two-year term in office, the global economic crisis began , which was also to affect Wisconsin. Regardless of this, Kohler reorganized the state administration, adding to the bureaucracy with the creation of many new departments and ministries. At that time, the state's road authority was expanded significantly as a result of the increased volume of traffic. In those years, Wisconsin introduced the eight-hour day for public services. Because of his background, Kohler was more employer-friendly, which earned him criticism from the unions and the political opposition. In 1930 he lost to Philip La Follette in the gubernatorial primaries . As a result, he was not nominated again by his party. His term of office thus ended on January 5, 1931.

Listed administration building of the Kohler Company

Another résumé

After the end of his governorship, Kohler initially remained politically active. In the Republican gubernatorial primaries of 1932 he was able to beat La Follette and win his party's nomination. In the actual elections, however, he was defeated by the Democrat Albert G. Schmedeman , who in the national trend in connection with the election victory of President Franklin D. Roosevelt was also able to win Wisconsin for the Democrats.

Then Kohler withdrew from politics. However, he continued to deal with his entrepreneurial activities. In July 1934 there was a nationwide sensational violent strike at the Kohler works. The workforce tried to organize itself into a union, which met with firm resistance from management, with Kohler at the helm. Two people were killed and 47 injured in the ensuing clashes. In the run-up to the 1936 presidential election, Kohler was under discussion as a possible Republican candidate. However, the constant unrest in the coal works ensured that he had no chance of being nominated for his party. Walter Kohler died in April 1940. He was married to Charlotte H. Schroeder, with whom he had four children. His son Walter Kohler Jr. was also governor of Wisconsin between 1951 and 1957.

The Kohler Range and the Kohler Glacier in Antarctica bear his name.

Web links

• Walter Kohler senior in the database of the National Governors Association (English)
• Wisconsin Historical Society (image)
• Walter J. Kohler in database Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ see Margaret Beattie Bogue - 1985
2. ↑ ^{a b} see web link Manfred Braunge: Chicago, Great Lakes Chapter Sheboygan