Portrait of Georg Wilhelm von Siemens

Birthday profile

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, German-Swiss businessman (died 1919)

Born
July 30, 1855
Died
October 14, 1919
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1855

About Georg Wilhelm von Siemens

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens (30 July 1855, in Berlin – 14 October 1919, in Arosa, Switzerland) was a German telecommunications industrialist of the Siemens family. Known as Wilhelm von Siemens, he was the second son of Werner von Siemens by first wife Mathilde Drumann, and was a general partner of the family company Siemens. Then under the name Siemens & Halske (S & H), the company was incorporated in 1897, with Wilhelm's uncle Carl Heinrich von Siemens as its first chairman of the Supervisory Board. Wilhelm's elder brother Arnold von Siemens succeeded his uncle as chairman of the board from 1904 until his death in 1918, while Wilhelm was chairman of the board of the sister company, Siemens-Schuckertwerke AG, from 1903 until 1918. After his brother Arnold's death in 1918, he succeeded him as chairman of Siemens & Halske AG until his own death the following year. His successor in both chairmanships became his younger (half-)brother, Carl Friedrich von Siemens. Married in 1882 to Eleonore Siemens (2 March 1860 – 26 July 1919), a first cousin, they were the parents of: Wilhelm Ferdinand von Siemens (1885–1937), who after World War I shortly was CEO of Siemens & Halske AG Mathilde Eleonore Eveline von Siemens (1888–1945) He is credited with championing the Berlin to Iraq railway system that was to be completed about 1915. The direct competition such a railway system posed to British imperial domination could have been one of the causes of WW I. Beginning in 1899, he founded Siemensstadt, a locality of Berlin, in order to expand production by building new factories and workers' accommodation.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens timeline

  1. Then under the name Siemens & Halske (S & H), the company was incorporated in 1897, with Wilhelm's uncle Carl Heinrich von Siemens as its first chairman of the Supervisory Board.
  2. Beginning in 1899, he founded Siemensstadt, a locality of Berlin, in order to expand production by building new factories and workers' accommodation.

The world when Georg Wilhelm von Siemens was born

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens was born in 1855. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1855

  • Best-selling bookLeaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineBleeding Kansas — pro and anti-slavery violence
  • Technology milestoneBessemer steel process invented
  • World population~1.35B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderFranklin Pierce
  • U.S. population26.4M

1855 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Georg Wilhelm von Siemens's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18552026
Population26.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

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