Adolph Salomonsohn
Adolph Salomonsohn | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 March 1831 |
| Died | 4 January 1919 (aged 87) |
| Occupations | |
| Organization | Disconto-Gesellschaft |
| Children | 4 including, Georg Solmssen |
| Relatives | Abraham Gedalia (great-grandfather) Maria Weigert Brendel (granddaughter) Cornelia Foss (great-granddaughter) Arthur Salomonsohn (nephew) Arthur R.G. Solmssen (great-great-nephew) |
Adolph Salomonsohn (19 March 1831 – 4 January 1919) was a German lawyer, banker and businessperson.[1][2] The proprietor of Disconto-Gesellschaft during 1869–1888, Salomonsohn influenced the establishment of the stock market in Germany.[2]
Early life and education
Adolph Salomonsohn was born on 19 March 1831 in Inowrazlaw, Prussia (present-day Inowrocław, Poland) to Gedalia Salomonsen (1799–1837), a Danish-born merchant, and Ernestine Salomonsohn (née Levÿ; 1801–1867).[1][3][2] Through his father Salomonsohn was the grandson of Rabbi Salomon Abraham Gedalia (1776–1844) and the great-grandson of Rabbi Abraham Gedalia, the Chief Rabbi of Denmark.[1][2] Salomonsohn was one of 8 siblings.[1]
Salomonson attended a Gymnasium in Bromberg (present day, Bydgoszcz) before studying law.[1]
Career
Salomonsohn first worked as an assessor in the guardianship department of the Berlin City Court.[1] He rejected David Hansemann's offer to work for the Disconto-Gesellschaft in Berlin and instead started to practice as a lawyer and notary in Ratibor (Racibórz). After being publicly insulted by the Prussian minister of justice, Leopold zur Lippe-Biesterfeld-Weißenfeld, Salomonsohn closed his law office to return to Berlin and started to work for the Disconto-Gesellschaft in 1863. He was given procuration in 1866 and became proprietor in 1869.[1][4]
Next to Adolph von Hansemann Salomonsohn was influential in the nascent stock market activities in German banking. He was especially active in the funding of the Gotthard railway and remained a member of the administrative board of the Gotthard railway society until 1909. Salomonsohn was also a member of the administrative board of the Norddeutsche Bank, the "Union AG für Bergbau" (Dortmund), the potash works Aschersleben and the "Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG", whose director Emil Kirdorf was a close friend.[1]
Salomonsohn retired from the active management of the Disconto-Gesellschaft in 1888 but remained a member of the supervisory board until his death.[1]
Personal life
In 1868, Salomonsohn married Sara Rinkel (1851–1929) with whom he had four children including the banker Georg Solmssen (1869–1957).[1] Through his daughter Charlotte Weigert (née Salomonsohn), Salomonsohn was the grandfather of Maria Weigert Brendel, a classical archaeologist and art historian, and was the great-grandfather of Cornelia Foss, an artist and teacher.[5][6][7][8] Salomonsohn was the uncle of the banker Arthur Salomonsohn, and great-great-uncle of the American writer Arthur R.G. Solmssen.[9][10]
On 4 January 1919 Salomonsohn died in Berlin, German Empire (present-day Germany) aged 87.[1][3]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Müller, Martin L. (2005). "Salomonsohn, Adolph". Neue Deutsche Biographie 22 (in German). pp. 394–395. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Salomonsohn, Adolph". Historischen Gesellschaft der Deutschen Bank. Frankfurt: Deutsche Bank. Archived from the original on 11 September 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ^ a b "Adolf Salomonsohn [Death Register]". Sterberegister der Berliner Standesämter 1874–1985; Personenstandsregister Sterberegister; Berlin Xii A; 1919 (Zum Erstregister Erklärtes Zweitregister). Berlin: Landesarchiv Berlin. 6 January 1919.
- ^ Harold James (31 May 2012). Georg Solmssen - ein deutscher Bankier. Schriftenreihe zur Zeitschrift für Unternehmensgeschichte (in German). C.H. Beck. ISBN 9783406627965. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
- ^ "Lotte Lilli Maria Weigert [Civil Birth Register]". Personenstandsregister Geburtsregister; Geburtenregister der Berliner Standesämter 1874–1911; Charlottenburg I; 1903 (in German). Berlin: Landesarchiv Berlin. 1903.
- ^ Lorenz, Katharina (2024). "Facts, Simulacra, and Pluralistic Theories: The Transplanted Career of Otto Brendel (1901–1973)". In Briggs, Ward; Shanzer, Danuta (eds.). Professing Classics: Between Germanosphere and Anglosphere (mid-19th–21st C.). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH. pp. 135–168. ISBN 9783111432892. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ^ "Charlotte Salomonsohn & Erich Oskar Weigert [Marriage Register]". Personenstandsregister Heiratsregister; Heiratsregister der Berliner Standesämter 1874–1936; Berlin XII A; 1901 (Zum Erstregister Erklärtes Zweitregister) (in German). Berlin: Landesarchiv Berlin. 1 May 1901.
- ^ "DR. OTTO BRENDEL, ART HISTORIAN, 71". New York times. New York. 9 October 1973. p. 50. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ James, Harold (8 September 2011). "Wrestling with the Angel: Georg Solmssen and Germany". The Leo Baeck Institute Year Boo. 56 (1): 221–245. doi:10.1093/leobaeck/ybr007.
- ^ "Salomonsohn, Arthur". Historischen Gesellschaft der Deutschen Bank (in German). Frankfurt: Deutsche Bank. Retrieved 15 January 2026.