Siemens & Halske AG (or Siemens-Halske) was a German electrical engineering company that later became part of

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

. It was founded on 12 October 1847 as ''Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske'' by Werner von Siemens and

Johann Georg Halske Johann Georg Halske (30 July 1814 – 18 March 1890) was a German master mechanic. Biography Born in Hamburg, Halske started his own workshop in Berlin in 1844, which he ran together with his partner F. M. Böttcher. In 1847 Halske founded the ...

. The company, located in Berlin- Kreuzberg, specialised in manufacturing electrical telegraphs according to Charles Wheatstone's patent of 1837. In 1848, the company constructed one of the first European telegraph lines from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. Siemens & Halske was not alone in the realm of electrical engineering. In 1887, Emil Rathenau had established ''

Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft AG (AEG; ) was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in Berlin as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte Elektricität'' in 1883 by Emil Rathenau. During the World War II, Second W ...

'' (AEG), which became a long-time rival. In 1881, Siemens & Halske built the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway, the world's first electric streetcar line, in the southwestern

Lichterfelde Lichterfelde may refer to: * Lichterfelde (Berlin), a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany * Lichterfelde West, an elegant residential area in Berlin * Lichterfelde, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in the Stendhal Distric ...

suburb of Berlin, followed by the

Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram or ''Mödling and Hinterbrühl Local Railway'' (German: ''Lokalbahn Mödling–Hinterbrühl'') was an electric tramway in Austria, running 4.5 km (2.8 mi) from Mödling to Hinterbrühl, in the southwest ...

near Vienna, the first electrical interurban tram in Austria-Hungary. 1882 saw the opening of the experimental " Elektromote" track, an early trolleybus concept in the Berlin suburb of Halensee. The rising popularity of telegraphs and electrical tramways, as well as in generators and electric motors, ensured steady growth for Siemens & Halske. Werner von Siemens retired in 1890, while Johann Georg Halske had already left the company in 1867. Werner von Siemens' brother Karl Heinrich, together with Werner's sons

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Uni ...

and

Georg Wilhelm George William (german: Georg Wilhelm; 13 November 1595 – 1 December 1640), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Margrave and Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia from 1619 until his death. His reign was marked by ineffective governance during ...

, grew the firm and erected new Siemens & Halske premises along the banks of the western

Spree Spree may refer to: Geography * Spree (river), river in Germany Film and television * ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers' ...

river, in the Berlin suburb of Charlottenburg, in 1897. The firm's vast new site continued to grow, and from 1899 onwards it was known as Siemensstadt.

International expansion

Siemens & Halske quickly expanded with representatives in Great Britain and Russia as well as its own cable-manufacturing plants at Woolwich and Saint Petersburg. The company's rise was supported by Werner von Siemens' patent of the

electric generator In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas ...

( dynamo) in 1867.

British Empire

Carl Wilhelm Siemens represented the company in Great Britain. They developed a cable-manufacturing plant in Woolwich.

Russian Empire

Carl Heinrich von Siemens represented the company in Russia. He established the Russian branch of the company in 1853, gaining a contract to build the telegraph system. In 1886 they obtained permission to establish the ''Obshchestvo Elektricheskogo Osveshcheniia'' (Company for Electric Lighting), also known as the

1886 Company Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Lou ...

In the 20th century

When Siemens & Halske merged parts of its activities with Schuckert & Co., Nuremberg in 1903 to become Siemens-Schuckert, Siemens & Halske AG specialized in communications engineering. During World War I, rotary engines of advanced and unusual design were produced under the Siemens-Halske brand, like the

Siemens-Halske Sh.I Siemens & Halske AG (or Siemens-Halske) was a German electrical engineering company that later became part of Siemens. It was founded on 12 October 1847 as ''Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske'' by Werner von Siemens and Johann Geo ...

and Sh.III. Later, Siemens established several company subsidiaries for which the Siemens & Halske AG functioned as a holding company. During the Second World War, Siemens & Halske employed slave labour from concentration camps. Among other things, they produced field telephones of the type "Feldfernsprecher 33"

References

External links