Wilhelm August Korff

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Wilhelm August Korff (born July 11, 1845 in Bremen , † August 25, 1914 in Bremen-Schwachhausen) was a German petroleum merchant.

biography

Korff was the son of the Bremen merchant Christian August Korff (1812–1885). His father ran a mineral oil and grocery store at Ostertorstrasse 7, he had packing houses in Buchtstrasse and Violenstrasse, and in 1865 he acquired the mineral oil and paraffin factory H. Waltjen & Co Auf der Stephanikirchweide . He founded the trading and factory business Christian August Korff . Refined oil was introduced from around 1870. Around 1877 emperor oil was his main product as a light source and from around 1881 lubricating oil was increasingly produced.

Wilhelm August Korff worked in the company; from 1885 he headed the company. Since the constantly growing business premises on the Stephanikirchweide were no longer sufficient, business areas were relocated to Brake . In the meantime, exports took up the majority of production. In 1887 the company was converted to a petroleum refinery, previously August Korff AG . An important task now was the provision of rail tankers , tankers and tankers as well as the maintenance of tank farms . Korff was called the "Petroleum King" in Bremen.

In 1890 the brothers Carl Schütte and Franz Schütte as well as Wilhelm Anton Riedemann and the Rockefeller company Standard Oil Company founded the German-American Petroleum Society (DAPG) (today Esso Germany). In 1893 the company acquired the majority in the petroleum refinery, previously August Korff AG . In 1910 Korff left the board. The company continued to exist, suffered serious bomb damage in World War II , was in liquidation from around 1951 and went to Esso (formerly DAPG) in 1954.

family

Korff was married to Agathe Amalie Mathilde Caroline Korff (18601-1944). Both had two children: Hermann August Korff (1882–1963, Germanist ) and Elfriede Berta von Helmersen (1885–1966).

In 1903, Korff built his large Villa Korff in Schwachhausen Parkallee 79/81 at the corner of Wachmannstrasse according to plans by Friedrich Wellermann and Paul Frölich as well as garden architect Christian Roselius . The Korff family also lived in their summer residence built in 1891, the Korff'sche Landhaus - also called Villa Agathe - in Oslebshauser Park (formerly Korffs Park or Korff's Holz ) based on plans by Eduard Gildemeister and Wilhelm Sunkel. The two-storey country house was heavily modified and redesigned after renovations and was used by today's high school in the park as a support center. The estate manager lived all year round in the two-part Hofmeierhaus made of half-timbered houses in the Swiss style , and the carriages were parked here.

Korff's widow moved to Wiesbaden and Bremen acquired Korff's Holz around 1931 ; the Oslebshauser Park was created afterwards.

Korff was buried in the Bremen-Riensberg cemetery; so did his wife.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Anne Gerling: The summer residence of the petroleum king . In: Weser-Kurier from August 28, 2014.
  2. ↑ The Hofmeierhaus as an expression of an era . In: Fachwerkhaus.de
personal data
SURNAME Korff, Wilhelm August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German businessman
DATE OF BIRTH July 11, 1845
PLACE OF BIRTH Bremen
DATE OF DEATH August 25, 1914
Place of death Bremen