Siemens personalities

Founders

Find out more about inventor and founder Werner von Siemens and the company’s other founding fathers

Werner von Siemens (1816–1892)

A black and white photograph of a man in a suit and tie, possibly from the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Werner von Siemens, 1872

Visionary, inventor and founder of a global enterprise

Werner von Siemens was far more than just a brilliant inventor – he was a responsible entrepreneur and visionary who revolutionized the electrical industry and laid the foundation for Siemens.

His construction of the pointer telegraph laid the basis for the Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske. Founded in 1847, the company was soon an international enterprise.

In 1866, Werner von Siemens discovered the dynamo-electric principle, probably his most significant achievement in the area of electrical engineering. This groundbreaking insight paved the way for the use of electricity as an energy source. The company also gained worldwide recognition for its successful handling of technically complex, extremely high-risk projects, such as the planning and construction of the Indo-European telegraph line from London to Calcutta and the laying of a transatlantic cable between Europe and the U.S.

For his outstanding contributions to science and society, Werner von Siemens was ennobled by German Emperor Friedrich III in 1888 – a recognition of his life's work, which continues to have an impact to this day.

Ideas alone have little worth. The value of an invention lies in its practical implementation […]

Werner von Siemens, 1865

Johann Georg Halske (1814–1890)

The partner who helped Siemens achieve success

Johann Georg Halske and Werner von Siemens met in early 1847. A few days later, Siemens commissioned the master mechanic to construct the pointer telegraph that he had designed. Convinced of the invention’s potential, Halske was willing to accept the risks involved in joining forces with Siemens to found a new company. Within a few decades, the Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske was a flourishing electrical engineering enterprise.

However, it was precisely the company’s entrepreneurial success and international expansion that caused the business partners to go their separate ways at the end of 1867. Alienated by a working world that was rapidly industrializing and mechanizing, Halske withdrew from the business at the age of just under 54. As a city councilor, he made an important contribution to public life in Berlin, taking a particular interest in the promotion of the applied arts.

Johann Georg Halske remained friends with Werner von Siemens until his death. “Halske” remained part of the company’s name until 1966, and it was only when today’s Siemens AG was founded that the name “Siemens & Halske” was dropped.

Johann Georg Halske, 1855

Halske was a clear-headed, cautious man of business, and I have him alone to thank for the good business results of the first years.

Werner von Siemens, 1892

William Siemens (1823–1883)

William Siemens, 1875

Bridge-builder to Britain and renowned scientist

Due to his activities in England, Werner von Siemens’ brother Wilhelm Siemens was the crucial bridge-builder who brought Siemens & Halske to the global markets. Seven years younger than Werner, Wilhelm became Siemens & Halske’s London agent in 1850. In 1858, the separate British subsidiary Siemens, Halske & Co. was founded under his leadership to manufacture and lay submarine cables. After successfully laying cables in the Mediterranean, the company achieved a breakthrough in the tough British telegraphy market.

Despite his numerous business activities, Wilhelm – who acquired British citizenship and changed his name to William – considered himself first and foremost a scientist and engineer. In England, his name is associated primarily with pioneering scientific research and his profound commitment to prestigious academic societies.

William Siemens' extraordinary life’s work was recognized just months before his death in November 1883: He was knighted by Queen Victoria.

Carl von Siemens (1829–1906)

The architect of the Russian business and guide into the future

Another younger brother of the company founder, Carl von Siemens, significantly established Siemens & Halske in the crucial Russian market and later set the course for the next generation.

In 1853, Carl traveled to St. Petersburg to oversee the construction of the Russian telegraph network, for which Siemens & Halske had been granted a contract. He quickly proved himself to be a decisive, capable project manager. Under his leadership, the Russian business became a separate business in 1855 and established itself as an important pillar of support for the parent company in Berlin. In 1869, Carl moved to England, where he assisted his brother William’s business activities for more than a decade. In the early 1880s, he returned to St. Petersburg and injected new life into the company’s Russian business.

In the early 1890s, after Werner von Siemens had retired from active company management, Carl von Siemens became head of Siemens & Halske. In this capacity, he oversaw the company’s transformation into a joint stock company and the transfer of its leadership to a second entrepreneurial generation.

For his outstanding contributions in Russia, Carl was ennobled by Tsar Nicholas II in 1895.

We owe it mainly to [Carl’s] energy and ability that the Russian business now grew so rapidly and to such proportions.

Werner von Siemens, 1892

Sigmund Schuckert (1846–1895)

The forerunner of high-voltage technology and social reformer

In 1873, precision mechanic and telegraph builder Sigmund Schuckert laid the foundation in Nuremberg for a company that would significantly shape electrical engineering.

In his small workshop Schuckert began manufacturing dynamometers and measuring instruments. Successful electrification projects enabled the company to quickly expand. Its production program included arc lights, switchgear, meters, lighting accessories, electric railways and later, above all, searchlights.

When Schuckert withdrew from the company in 1893 for health reasons, the transformation of the limited commercial partnership into the joint stock company Elektrizitäts-Aktiengesellschaft vormals Schuckert & Co. (EAG) became unavoidable due to growing capital requirements. In 1903, EAG merged with Siemens & Halske’s power engineering business to form Siemens-Schuckertwerke.

Much like Werner von Siemens, Sigmund Schuckert introduced groundbreaking social policies in his company early on, including a progressive factory health insurance plan and a pension scheme.

Erwin Moritz Reiniger (1854–1909)

The founder of the medical technology business

The history of medical technology at Siemens has its roots in Erlangen, where university mechanic Erwin Moritz Reiniger opened a small workshop for precision mechanical and electrical devices in 1877.

In 1886, he founded the company Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall (RGS) with his former suppliers Max Julius Gebbert and Karl Schall. RGS produced medical measuring equipment up to the mid-1890s and then – after the discovery of X-rays in 1895 – primarily X-ray tubes.

Transformed into a joint stock company in 1907, RGS subsequently grew to become a major corporation. In 1925, Siemens & Halske acquired a majority stake in the Erlangen enterprise. Seven years later, Siemens & Halske’s medical engineering activities were bundled with those of RGS to form Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG, which soon became the world’s largest specialist in the electro-medical market.

After leaving the company in 1895, Erwin Moritz Reiniger made a fresh start by acquiring an insolvent incandescent lamp factory in Munich, Germany. This venture proved unsuccessful, and, when the establishment of a factory for electrical precision instruments also failed, Reiniger retired.