Gustav Wilhelm Wolff (14 November 1834 – 17 April 1913) was a German-born British shipbuilder and politician. Born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, he moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in 1849 to live with his uncle,

Gustav Christian Schwabe Gustav Christian Schwabe (10 May 1813 – 10 January 1897) was a German-born merchant and financier who funded companies such as John Bibby & Sons, Harland and Wolff and the White Star Line. Born in Hamburg, Germany, Schwabe moved to Liverpool ...

. After serving his apprenticeship in Manchester, Wolff was employed as a

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types ...

Hyde, Greater Manchester Hyde is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 34,003 in 2011. Historically in Cheshire, it is northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester. History Early history Newton Hall was presen ...

, before being employed by the shipbuilder Edward Harland in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

as his personal assistant. In 1861, Wolff became a partner at Harland's firm, forming

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...

. Outside shipbuilding, Wolff served as a Belfast Harbour Commissioner. He also founded the Belfast Ropeworks, served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Belfast East for 18 years and as a member of the

Conservative and Unionist Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the Two-party system, two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. ...

and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

Unionist parties.

Early life

Gustav Wilhelm Wolff was born on 14 November 1834 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

to Moritz Wolff, a merchant and his wife, Fanny Schwabe. Gustav was brought up in the

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

as his family had converted from

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

in 1819. In March 1850 aged 15, Wolff left Hamburg to live in Liverpool with his uncle,

, a financier. Wolff was educated at

Liverpool College Liverpool College is a school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' Conference (HMC). History Liverpool College was the first of many public schools founded in the Victorian E ...

; afterwards he served an apprenticeship at the engineers

Joseph Whitworth Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet (21 December 1803 – 22 January 1887) was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for scr ...

and Company, in Manchester. The firm considered Wolff so able that he was chosen to represent the company at the 1855

Paris Exhibition Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. After serving his apprenticeship, Wolff was employed by the B. Goodfellow Ltd., a firm based in

as a

. In 1857, due to the intervention of his uncle

, Wolff was employed as Edward Harland's personal assistant at Robert Hickson's shipyard at

Queen's Island Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a large-scale waterfront regeneration, comprising historic maritime landmarks, film studios, education facilities, apartments, a riverside entertainment district, and the world's largest Titanic ...

. In 1860, Edward Harland recruited Wolff as his business partner, and

was formed.

Career at Harland and Wolff

Wolff's early role at Harland and Wolff involved his engineering and managing the yard. Due to Wolff's

German Jew The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

ish descent, he had links with the Jewish community in Hamburg and in Britain, and was able to attract business to the shipyard. Wolff worked extensively at the yard, and was partly responsible for building of the engine works at Harland and Wolff in 1880. His company was the first to begin construction of the ''

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

''. After the conversion of Harland and Wolff to

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

status in 1888, Wolff was appointed as a director. Wolff was able to secure a good relationship with the

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...

, which was managed by

Albert Ballin Albert Ballin (15 August 1857 – 9 November 1918) was a German shipping magnate. He was the general director of the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG) or Hamburg-America Line, which for a time was the world's largest s ...

, who was also of Jewish background. Wolff officially retired from Harland and Wolff in 1906, although he had not been an active in the business for years beforehand.

William James Pirrie William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC, PC (Ire) (31 May 1847 – 7 June 1924) was a leading British shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland and Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as Lor ...

who became a partner in 1874 was now the most active. Wolff claimed of the business relationship at Harland and Wolff:

Outside interests and later life

Wolff had business interests outside Harland and Wolff, including the Belfast Ropeworks, which he founded in the early 1870s with W.H. Smiles, who was the son of

Samuel Smiles Samuel Smiles (23 December 1812 – 16 April 1904) was a British author and government reformer. Although he campaigned on a Chartist platform, he promoted the idea that more progress would come from new attitudes than from new laws. His prim ...

, a Scottish author. With Wolff as chairman, the firm became one of the largest ropeworks in the world, challenging the

Gourock Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...

Ropework Company, who were based on the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

in Scotland. Wolff also bought shares in the Union Steamship Company, and became a director; with his influence, he ensured Harland and Wolff received regular orders from the Union Steamship Company. After Wolff's negotiation, the Union Steamship Company merged in 1900 with the Castle Line, which was owned by

Donald Currie Sir Donald Currie (17 September 182513 April 1909) was a Scottish shipowner, politician and philanthropist. Early life and career He was born at Greenock, Renfrewshire, on 17 September 1825, the third son of ten children of James Currie (1797 ...

; the new company formed was the

Union-Castle Line The Union-Castle Line was a British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line. It merged with ...

. Outside business, Gustav Wolff served as a Belfast harbour commissioner from 1887 to 1893. Wolff, like Edward Harland, served as a

as a member of the

. Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff were known in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as " Majestic" and " Teutonic", the names of two ships that the company built. Wolff was the Member of Parliament for Belfast East from March 1892 to December 1910. He replaced Edward de Cobain who had been expelled from the House of Commons and was later jailed for homosexual offences. Wolff only faced election once; in the 1892 by-election Sir William Charley,

Q.C. QC may refer to: * Queen's Counsel, the title of a King's Counsel, a type of lawyer in Commonwealth countries, during the reign of a queen * Quality control, the process of meeting products and services to consumer expectations Places * Quebec, ...

, stood against Wolff as an

Independent Conservative Independent Conservative is a description which has been used in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States and elsewhere, to denote a political conservative who lacks a formal affiliation to the party of that name. In the United Kingdom As a de ...

. Wolff defeated Charley by a margin of over 2100 votes. Wolff was then returned unopposed until his retirement from parliament in 1910. Afterwards, Wolff was made a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

by the

Belfast Corporation Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

. In Parliament, Wolff strongly opposed the

Irish Home Rule bills The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the e ...

. Wolff was a member of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

. He also gave money to local causes, including the

Ulster Hospital The Ulster Hospital, commonly known as the Ulster, is a teaching hospital in Dundonald (at the eastern edge of Belfast) in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Ballyregan, beside the A20 road. It provides acute services ...

and the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

. Wolff was a member of many different clubs, including the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...

and the

Garrick Club The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, A ...

. After his retirement from Parliament, Wolff lived almost exclusively in London, where he died on 17 April 1913 at his home, 42 Park Street.

Death

Wolff did not marry and died a bachelor, apart from Irish effects, his English effects were publicly sworn at £9800 () and his executors were a solicitor and a relative, Frederick Albert Wolff May.

Footnotes

External links

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Article with photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolff, Gustav Wilhelm 1834 births 1913 deaths British marine engineers Irish Anglicans Irish Unionist Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 German shipbuilders English shipbuilders Burials at Brompton Cemetery Jewish British politicians German emigrants to England German emigrants to Ireland Former Lutherans German Anglicans People educated at Liverpool College 19th-century English businesspeople