George Krauss
George Krauss, since 1905 Ritter von Krauss ( born December 25, 1826 in Augsburg, † November 5, 1906 in Munich) was a Bavarian industrialist and founder of the Locomotivfabriken Krauss & Comp. in Munich and Linz (Upper Austria ). The spelling Krauss has become established only later due to the use of capital letters on the factory plates.
The beginnings
Georg Krauss was born the eldest of four children of the master weaver Johann Georg Friedrich Krauss and his wife Anna Margaret, born steel. After attending primary school, he came to, which was founded in 1833 the Royal. Polytechnic School ( today's University of Augsburg). After finishing school, he worked temporarily in the locomotive works by Joseph Anton von Maffei in Munich, then at the Royal. Bayr. State Railway in Hof, Kempten and Lindau. A crucial step in his development was his work as a machinist at the Northeastern Railway in Zurich, where he built his first four locomotives. From there he prepared before the foundation of its factory in Munich. Despite the fierce resistance of the already established Maffei him to raise capital and on July 17, 1866 succeeded the establishment of the factory in the Campus Martius in Munich- Neuhausen, a branch factory at South Station in Munich in 1872 and an additional plant in 1880 in the Austrian rich generic Linz to the high import duties of the monarchy to get around. 1876 was the delivery of the first locomotive named Landwührden. 1882 was the 1000th locomotive and 1904 already delivered the 5000th machine.
Other successes
But Krauss was not only a successful locomotive manufacturer but also supported other technological developments, such as the first refrigeration machine from Linde, participated in the development of railways in Saxony and Thuringia and in Alsace, in the conversion of the horse tram on steam drive in Munich and Vienna, the Chiemseebahn and the Local Bahn AG Munich. Next he was in 1876 one of the founders of today's VDI ( Association of German Engineers ) and supported generously in 1903 with 100,000 marks and the redemption of his first locomotive Landwührden the founding of the Deutsches Museum.
Fatalities
In 1876 his first wife died Lydia, after an accident in 1885 his only son Conrad what Krauss transformed the company into a public company and retired from active management. He remained chairman of the board until his death.
Honors
Early as 1880, he received the Knight's Cross, First Class of the Grand Duchy of Saxe -Weimar, and the title of Royal. Bavarian King Ludwig II of Commerce ( Bavaria ) for his services. 1903 followed the Order of Merit of St. Michael III. Class and with the award of the Knight's Cross of Merit of the Bavarian Crown, he was promoted to the peerage on March 6, 1905. The Technical University of Munich awarded him the title of Dr.-Ing. E. H., VDI the Grashof Commemorative.
A life with vision
In 1905 Krauss decided to shift the factory from the narrow city center out to Allach, where today the successor companies are still active. Unfortunately, he experienced neither the completion of the Deutsches Museum, nor the move to Allach. On 5 November 1906, the manufacturer Georg von Krauss died shortly before his 80th birthday in Munich. His friend and one of his first employees, Carl von Linde, took over the chairmanship of the Supervisory Board. His works have to Krauss-Maffei produced a total of 7186 locomotives from 1866 until the merger in 1931.