Werner von Siemens

Werner von Siemens got married to Mathilde Duman in the year 1852; the couple had two sons Arnold and Georg Wilhelm.

Werner von Siemens exchanged the nuptial vows for the second time with Antonie Siemens, a relative, two years after the death of Mathilde in the year 1867. They had two children- Carl Dietrich and Carl Friedrich.

The eminent innovator and entrepreneur breathed his last on December 6, 1892 in Berlin.

Werner von Siemens was born on 13 December, 1816 in present day Gehrden in the family of a poor farmer named Ferdinand Siemens and his wife Eleonore. His younger brothers were Carl Heinrich von Siemens and Carl Wilhelm Siemens; both of whom became integral members of Siemens.

Siemens studied at his local school where he showed a gift for the sciences and aspired to study at the well-known technical school ‘Bauakademie’ but his parents did not have the money. Instead he joined the ‘Prussian Military Academy’s ‘School of Engineering’ in 1835 in order to complete his education.

It was during his time at the ‘School of Engineering’ that he first came across a telegraph in the year 1837, a year before he graduated and he was immediately looking for ways in which it could be used for international communication.

Siemens had successfully laid the lines for a telegraph communication between Berlin and Frankfurt, during Germany’s war with Denmark in the year 1848 and showed his value as a gallant soldier; however a year later he resigned from the army in order to make telegraphs.

He established his own company named ‘Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske’ on the 1st of October, 1847 along with his two brothers Carl Heinrich and Carl Wilhelm, who represented the interests of the company in Russia and England respectively.

Factories were opened in different parts of Europe as the business flourished and the main factories were located in London, Paris, St. Petersburg and Vienna.

Siemens’ ability to come up with innovative ideas including the idea to insulate cables so that moisture could not cause damage also made the company stronger. He had come up with that idea back in 1847 but it went a long way in making the products of his company far more reliable.

It was during his reign as the head of the company that ‘Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske’ were successful in laying the cable that connected India to the rest of Europe and that was definitely one of the big achievements of his career.

Werner von Siemens’ greatest work is the ‘Siemens Company’, which he founded. Under his guidance it grew into one of the biggest telecommunication companies in the world.