Ferdinand Schichau
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand Gottlob Schichau (30 January 1814 – 23 January 1896) was a German
mechanical engineer and business
man.
, West Prussia
(modern Elbląg, Poland
) to a smith
and iron worker. He studied engineering
in Berlin
and visited the Rhineland
and England
. In 1837 he started his own company in Elbing. He also built a shipyard in Pillau near Königsberg
(East Prussia
) (today Baltiysk
, Kaliningrad Oblast
).
The Schichau-Werke
became a large industrial
complex, which employed several thousand people
. Schichau made hydraulic press
es, industrial machines and steam engine
s. For his workers he erected a large living quarter section in Elbing. The Borussia, constructed by him, was the first screw-vessel
in Germany
.
Schichau gained an associate when his daughter married around 1873 Carl H. Ziese
(1848 -1917) the constructor in 1874 of the first Compound engine to be integrated in a German gunship
.
The company had so many orders that it became necessary to construct another large shipyard in nearby Danzig (Gdańsk)
as well. In 1896 Schichau employed about 4,000 labourers his private assets were appraised at 30 million German gold mark
. Schichau died in Elbing on 23 January 1896, his son in law (Ziese) continued to lead the company till his own death in 1917. Ziese's only daughter, Hildegard, married Swedish Engineer Carl Carlson.
After her husband's death, Hildegard Carlson ran the former firm of her father Carl and grand father Ferdinand building, mainly, railway engines till the thereafters of a company active till no less than 1945.
Schichau's name remains in the Schichau Seebeck Shipyard
at Bremerhaven
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
mechanical engineer and business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
man.
Biography
Schichau was born in ElbingElblag
Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
, West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
(modern Elbląg, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) to a smith
Smith (metalwork)
A metalsmith, often shortened to smith, is a person involved in making metal objects. In contemporary use a metalsmith is a person who uses metal as a material, uses traditional metalsmithing techniques , whose work thematically relates to the practice or history of the practice, or who engages in...
and iron worker. He studied engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and visited the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 1837 he started his own company in Elbing. He also built a shipyard in Pillau near Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
(East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
) (today Baltiysk
Baltiysk
Baltiysk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau , is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Bay from the Gdańsk Bay. Baltiysk...
, Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...
).
The Schichau-Werke
Schichau-Werke
The Schichau-Werke was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, formerly part of the German Empire, and which is today the town of Elbląg in northern Poland. It also had a subsidiary shipyard in Danzig .-Early years:...
became a large industrial
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
complex, which employed several thousand people
Person
A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...
. Schichau made hydraulic press
Hydraulic press
A hydraulic is a machine using a hydraulic cylinder to generate a compressive force. It uses the hydraulic equivalenta mechanical lever, and was also known as a Bramah press after the inventor, Joseph Bramah, of England. He invented and was issued a patent on this press in 1795...
es, industrial machines and steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s. For his workers he erected a large living quarter section in Elbing. The Borussia, constructed by him, was the first screw-vessel
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Schichau gained an associate when his daughter married around 1873 Carl H. Ziese
Carl H. Ziese
Carl H. Ziese, was a German mechanical engineer, railway machinery manufacturer and shipbuilder of East Prussian origin. Ziese was the son of Alexandr Ziese, the proprietor of a great machinery workshop...
(1848 -1917) the constructor in 1874 of the first Compound engine to be integrated in a German gunship
Gunship
The term "gunship" is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light craft armed with heavy guns.-In Navy:In the Navy, the term originally appeared in the mid-19th century as a less-common synonym for gunboat.-In military aviation:...
.
The company had so many orders that it became necessary to construct another large shipyard in nearby Danzig (Gdańsk)
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
as well. In 1896 Schichau employed about 4,000 labourers his private assets were appraised at 30 million German gold mark
German gold mark
The Goldmark was the currency used in the German Empire from 1873 to 1914.-History:Before unification, the different German states issued a variety of different currencies, though most were linked to the Vereinsthaler, a silver coin containing 16⅔ grams of pure silver...
. Schichau died in Elbing on 23 January 1896, his son in law (Ziese) continued to lead the company till his own death in 1917. Ziese's only daughter, Hildegard, married Swedish Engineer Carl Carlson.
After her husband's death, Hildegard Carlson ran the former firm of her father Carl and grand father Ferdinand building, mainly, railway engines till the thereafters of a company active till no less than 1945.
Schichau's name remains in the Schichau Seebeck Shipyard
Schichau Seebeckwerft
Schichau Seebeckwerft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft.-History:...
at Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
.
External links
- There is a relevant English-language forum at Railways of Germany