KRUPP, Alfred, celebrated gun manufacturer, born in Essen, Germany, April 26, 1812; died July 14, 1887. His father, Friedrich Krupp, discovered the art of making cast-steel. Alfred was fourteen years of age his father died. A small forge and shop was left for the support of his family At the time Alfred took charge of it, in 1848, he employed two workmen.
Soon after he discovered a method of casting steel in large masses, and erected the first forging hammer employed in Germany. Shortly after the manufactory became one of the most important in Europe and produced engines, rails, car wheels tires, and steel guns. The guns manufactured there were used in the Franco-Prussian War, giving the German army a decided advantage, especially at the siege of Paris. By 1875 the principal powers of Europe and of other grand divisions began to adopt the Krupp steel guns, and at present they are used more extensively than any others. In 1890 the factory cast a gun for the Russian government weighing 135 tons, and in 1893 exhibited one at the Chicago Columbian Exposition weighing 124 tons. Besides the extensive manufactory, Krupp acquired large mines and collieries, and at present 22,000 workmen are employed, while the manufactory covers an area of over 1,000 acres. The coal mines are in Essen and Bochum, while iron mines belonging to the institution are situated in Germany and Spain. The entire concern is by far the greatest of its kind in the world, and is only entered by workmen, all others and foreign governments being denied permission to inspect the premises. Alfred Krupp, son of the founder, succeeded to the general management after the death of his father. In 1864 letters of nobility were tendered Krupp by the king of Prussia, which he declined. He was one of the wealthiest men of Germany , philanthropic, and at his death 60,000 people gathered at Essen to pay their last respects. The son died Nov. 22, 1902.
Early Krupps
The recorded history of the Krupps starts in 1587 with the entry of one Arndt Krupp (Krupe) in the guild archives of Essen. A prominent burgher, he ran a flourishing business in the wine and grocery trade, real estate, and moneylending and married his children into Essen’s wealthiest families. The marriage of the eldest son, Anton, to the daughter of a well-established gunsmith first involved a Krupp in the manufacture of guns – in this case, during the Thirty Years War. After the conclusion of that war, however, and during the century that followed, the scions of the family retreated to public office as town clerks of Essen, while other members of the family continued as small traders and shopkeepers.
Not until the mid-18th century did the Krupp’s business fortunes rise again. In 1751 Friedrich Jodokus Krupp (1706-1757), a great-great-grandson of Arndt who had become a wealthy merchant by a first marriage, married Helene Amalie, who similarly claimed direct descent from the first Essen Krupp. Following Jodokus’s death, Helene Amalie promptly renamed the family business “Widow Krupp” and in 1800 acquired a foundry near Essen named “Good Hope.” A shrewd widow she sold “Good Hope” at a considerable profit 8 years later,to her grandson and successor, Friedrich (1787-1826). He built his steel-casting factory at a time when the exclusion of British steel by Napoleon’s continental system made the production of steel an unusually promising prospect. He founded in 1811 the firm of Fried. Krupp – the name the firm still bears today. Friedrich died on Oct. 8, 1826.
The Teachers’ and Pupils’ Cyclopædia, Vol. III (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 963.
(ack: Dromo’s Den, and Answers.com-early Krupps)
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