Walter Simon (banker)

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Walter Simon (born April 30, 1857 in Königsberg i. Pr. , † April 1, 1920 ibid) was a German banker, professor and honorary city councilor in Königsberg. He was a generous patron and founder of charitable foundations in Tübingen and Königsberg.

Life

Walter Simon came from an upper-class Jewish family and was the son of the Royal Prussian Secret Commerzienrath Moritz Simon and his wife Hedwig Simon, née Hirschberg. His father had become prosperous as a banker and was temporarily the chairman of the organized Königsberg merchants. Walter Simon studied law, medicine and philosophy at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen and at the Albertus University in Königsberg . When Dr. phil. After completing his studies, he returned to his hometown of Königsberg, where he worked as a banker and unpaid city councilor for poor and popular education. Like his father, he worked as a benefactor in East Prussia's provincial capital and was considered "probably the greatest benefactor that the city has ever had". In Königsberg he received the title of professor in 1899.

Foundations

Walter Simon financed several foundations in Tübingen:

  • In 1890 the Dr. Walter Simon Foundation for Tübingen wine growers to raise the livestock of needy wine growers.
  • In 1907 he set up a student foundation at the University of Tübingen: “The one of Professor Dr. Walter Simon in Königsberg with a share capital of 10,000 M on June 5, 1907 and confirmed on June 30, 1907 is intended to provide study support for needy and worthy female students of natural science and medicine matriculated at the University of Tübingen, primarily for Württembergerinnen ”, it says in the first paragraph of the statute for the Walter-Simon-Stiftung. In a letter from Walter Simon to the Royal Wuerttemberg Ministry of Churches and Schools in Stuttgart on March 2, 1907, it was stated that Simon wanted to use the foundation to solemnly state that he had “moved into the University of Tübingen almost thirty years ago”. The foundation named after Walter Simon at the University of Tübingen was merged with a number of other foundations to form the United Study Foundation for students from all faculties in 1932 after it had lost most of its assets due to inflation . The Tübingen Scholarship Foundation was created in 1960 as the successor to the United Study Foundation .
  • In 1912 he founded a bridal foundation , through which grants should be given to brides or bridal couples of the petty bourgeois class to establish a household.
  • He also donated money for a day care center and the construction of the Uhlandbad .

In his hometown of Königsberg, Simon spent even more money on various kinds of aid projects: he financed the city's first public gym and playground, a children's kitchen, a public library, a school swimming pool and donated money for poor houses and hospitals. He had an open hand for all urban matters:

Honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fritz Gause : The history of the city of Königsberg in Prussia , vol. 2: From the coronation to the outbreak of the First World War . Böhlau, Cologne 1968, p. 693, quoted from Jürgen Manthey : Königsberg. History of a world citizenship republic . Hanser, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-446-20619-1 , p. 638.
  2. ↑ Janna Eberhardt: Tübinger Universitäts-Nachrichten April 17, 2007 ( Memento of the original from June 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.uni-tuebingen.de
  3. ^ Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon . Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-88189-441-1
personal data
SURNAME Simon, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German banker, professor and city councilor in Koenigsberg
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH Koenigsberg i. Pr.
DATE OF DEATH April 1, 1920
Place of death Koenigsberg i. Pr.