Wilhelm von Becker

Wilhelm Becker, portrayed by Julius Schrader (1889)

Friedrich Wilhelm Bernard Becker , von Becker from 1911 , (* July 12, 1835 in Tangermünde ; † January 11, 1924 in Cologne-Marienburg ) was a German politician. Becker became known as the mayor of the cities of Düsseldorf (1876–1886) and Cologne (1886–1907).

Live and act

Becker was born as the son of the Brandenburg superintendent (pastor) Jakob Becker and his wife Louise, née Krause. After graduating from high school, he studied law in Halle (Saale) and Greifswald . From 1855 he was a member of the Corps Palaiomarchia and Pomerania . Pomerania later awarded him honorary membership.

In 1868 he took over his first political office as mayor of Halberstadt as an administrative lawyer . After a short term as Lord Mayor of Dortmund from 1875 to 1876, Becker was appointed Lord Mayor of the City of Düsseldorf in 1876 as the successor to Ludwig Hammers . His nickname in the Dortmund and Düsseldorf population was the "black Becker". During his ten-year tenure in Düsseldorf, he reorganized the city and financial administration. By planning the railway lines and the sewerage system, Becker had a decisive influence on the urban development of Düsseldorf.

In April 1877 he married Helene Overweg (1850-1939), a daughter of the landowner and member of the Reichstag, Carl Overweg . Overweg brought two sons from an earlier marriage to the businessman Wilhelm Carl Widenmann: Carl Widenmann and Wilhelm Widenmann, who later became known as an imperial naval officer and diplomat . In Cologne, Ms. Becker made a name for herself primarily through her social commitment: she founded an asylum and ran a hospital during the First World War.

In 1884 he was appointed to the Prussian State Council. In 1886 Becker took over the office of Lord Mayor of Cologne. He was to hold this office for a total of almost twenty years, until 1907. In order to distinguish him and the former mayor Hermann Becker , Becker was often referred to as "the long Becker". Two years after he took office, Cologne's first major city expansion followed in 1888. During his term of office in 1897 the construction of the first Cologne sports facility, the Weidenpescher Park with its horse racing track, and the establishment of the Cologne Commercial College (1901), the forerunner of the university, fell. Furthermore, under his aegis, the city's sewer system was renewed, a Rhine floodplain harbor and the power station were built, as well as the introduction of the electric tram and the construction of the city forest. Konrad Adenauer began his career in Cologne's city administration under Becker's mayor in 1906, when Becker introduced him to his office as city councilor in June 1906. In October 1907, Max Wallraf succeeded Becker as Lord Mayor of Cologne.

Grave in the Melaten cemetery

On January 27, 1911, Becker, who had already been made an honorary citizen of the city of Cologne during his time as mayor in 1905, was raised to the Prussian hereditary nobility. From 1907 he also held the title of Real Secret Council . He also became a very old member and vice-president of the Prussian mansion . After his death in 1924, he was buried in an honorary grave of the city of Cologne in the Melaten cemetery (corridor 73a), for which the exiled former Kaiser Wilhelm II sent a wreath.

literature

Robert Steimel: Cologne Heads Cologne 1958.
Hugo Weidenhaupt: Friedrich Wilhelm Becker, Lord Mayor of Düsseldorf 1876–1886 . In: Mitteilungen für die Stadtverwaltung 1, January 1, 1968, supplement.

Individual evidence

^ Horst Romeyk : The leading state and municipal administrative officials of the Rhine Province 1816–1945 (= publications of the Society for Rhenish History . Volume 69 ). Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-7585-4 , p. 347 .
↑ Kösener Corpslisten 1930, 61/91; 56/353
↑ The Culture Fighter, 1880, p. 23.
^ Hugo Weidenhaupt: Brief history of the city of Düsseldorf . 9th edition. Triltsch, Düsseldorf 1993, ISBN 3-7998-0000-X , p. 124
↑ Günter Bers / Michael Klöcker : The social democratic labor movement in the Cologne area, 1890–1895 , 1976, p. 26.
^ Historical archive of the city of Cologne: Konrad Adenauer. His time, his work , 1976, p. 11.
↑ Thomas Kühne: Three-class suffrage and electoral culture in Preussen 1867–1914 , 1994, p. 549.
^ Josef Abt, Johann Ralf Beines, Celia Körber-Leupold: Melaten - Cologne graves and history . Greven, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7743-0305-3 , p. 104.

personal data
SURNAME	Becker, Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Becker, Friedrich Wilhelm Bernard von (full name); Becker, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German politician
DATE OF BIRTH	July 12, 1835
PLACE OF BIRTH	Tangermünde
DATE OF DEATH	January 11, 1924
Place of death	Cologne-Marienburg

[1] Horst Romeyk : The leading state and municipal administrative officials of the Rhine Province 1816–1945 (= publications of the Society for Rhenish History . Volume 69 ). Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-7585-4 , p. 347 .

[2] Kösener Corpslisten 1930, 61/91; 56/353

[3] The Culture Fighter, 1880, p. 23.

[4] Hugo Weidenhaupt: Brief history of the city of Düsseldorf . 9th edition. Triltsch, Düsseldorf 1993, ISBN 3-7998-0000-X , p. 124

[5] Günter Bers / Michael Klöcker : The social democratic labor movement in the Cologne area, 1890–1895 , 1976, p. 26.

[6] Historical archive of the city of Cologne: Konrad Adenauer. His time, his work , 1976, p. 11.

[7] Thomas Kühne: Three-class suffrage and electoral culture in Preussen 1867–1914 , 1994, p. 549.

[8] Josef Abt, Johann Ralf Beines, Celia Körber-Leupold: Melaten - Cologne graves and history . Greven, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7743-0305-3 , p. 104.