Isaak Löw Hofmann, Edler von Hofmannsthal (10 June 1759 in Prostiboř – 12 December 1849 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

Life

During the famine in Ansbach in the middle of the 18th century, Hofmann's parents had emigrated from Pretzendorf (now Himmelkron), near

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

, to Bohemia, where they lived in very poor circumstances. His early training he received at home, and from his thirteenth year he studied at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

as a ''"bachur"'' (

Talmudic scholar The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...

) under Rabbi Abraham Plohn. After completing his studies he entered as teacher the house of Joel Baruch, a

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

farmer for the Austrian government. Besides giving instruction to the children, Hofmann took charge of the books of his employer. When in 1788 Baruch moved to Vienna and opened a wholesale house there, Hofmann was appointed manager of the entire business. Having received the same year a permit from the Austrian government to do business in Vienna, he chose the name "Isaak Löw Hofmann". On the death of Baruch he was made a partner in, and in 1794 became sole member of the firm which bore the name ''"Hofmann und Löwinger"''. Becoming interested in 1796 in the manufacture of

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

, he was one of the first to farm the silk monopoly from the Hungarian government (1802), a privilege which his house retained for nearly half a century. At his instigation, his son

Emanuel Emanuel may refer to: * Emanuel (name), a given name and surname (see there for a list of people with this name) * Emanuel School, Australia, Sydney, Australia * Emanuel School, Battersea, London, England * Emanuel (band), a five-piece rock band fr ...

wrote a pamphlet, ''"Einleitung zur Seidenzucht"'', of which more than 16,000 copies were distributed. Hofmann was very active in business, and succeeded in making his firm one of the leading houses of Austria-Hungary. Hofmann took great interest in the

Jewish community of Vienna The Jewish Community of Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien or IKG) is the body that represents Vienna's Orthodox Jewish community. Today, the IKG has around 10 000 members. Throughout history, it has represented almost all of Austria's Jew ...

, being president in 1806 and representative in 1812, which latter office he held until his death. In 1822 he founded the institution for the poor ("Armenanstalt"), which is still flourishing. He received many honours, and was made a member of the hereditary nobility by the Emperor of Austria in 1835. He was the great-grandfather of Hugo von Hofmannsthal.

References

*''Jewish Encyclopedia:'
"Hofmann, Isaak Löw, Edler von Hofmannsthal"
by Isidore Singer & Frederick Haneman (1906). Now in public domain. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hofmannsthal, Isaak Loew Hofmann, Edler von 1759 births 1849 deaths

Isaak Isaac was one of the patriarchs of the Abrahamic faiths. Isaac may also refer to: * Isaac (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname of Isaac and its variants Organizations * International Society ...

People from Tachov District Czech Jews German Bohemian people Austrian industrialists Edlers of Austria Jews and Judaism in Vienna Austro-Hungarian Jews Austrian expatriates in Hungary

Life

See also

References