''Siemens'' is the name of a family of German technology and telecommunications

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through per ...

s, founders and to the present day largest shareholders 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'', ''E ...

AG. The family have a wealth of over €8 billion, making them the 5th richest family in Germany, according to Handelsblatt

History

Origin

The Siemens family was first documented in 1384 with Henning Symons, a farmer of the

Free imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mi ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The family tree begins with ''Ananias Siemens'' (ca 1538-1591), a citizen, brewer and owner of an

oil mill An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

at Goslar, belonging to the Shoemaker's

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometim ...

, as his ancestors have been shoemakers. His grandson Hans (1628–94), speaker of the Merchant's Guild and commander of the town's vigilance committee, built the Siemens House at Goslar in 1692. It is still owned by the family and houses their private archives and an exhibition on the family history. The Siemens family provided numerous members to the Goslar city council as well as four mayors, the last being Johann Georg (1748–1807).

Development

The most important branches of the Goslar family (there are also other families with the same surname in Northern Germany) go back to the farmer Christian Ferdinand Siemens (1787–1840). His sons

Werner Siemens Ernst Werner Siemens (von Siemens from 1888; ; ; 13 December 1816 – 6 December 1892) was a German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Siemens's name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens. He fou ...

(since 1888 ''von'' Siemens), (Carl) Wilhelm Siemens (known as ''Sir William Siemens''), Hans Siemens, Friedrich Siemens and Carl (Heinrich) von Siemens became engineers and entrepreneurs. Werner Siemens, a former artillery and engineering officer in the Prussian army, invented a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

that used a needle to point to the right letter, instead of using

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one ...

. Based on this invention, he founded the company ''

Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske 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'', ' ...

'' on 1 October 1847, with the company taking occupation of its workshop on 12 October. His business partner Johann Georg Halske, a master mechanic, was particularly involved in the construction and design of electrical equipment such as the press which enabled wires to be insulated with a seamless coat of

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus '' Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae. The name also refers to the rigid, naturally biologically inert, resilient, electrically nonconductive, thermoplastic latex derived from the tree, particularly fr ...

, the pointer telegraph, the morse telegraph and measuring instruments. The company was internationalised soon after its founding. One brother of Werner represented him in England (

Sir William Siemens Sir Carl Wilhelm Siemens (4 April 1823 – 19 November 1883), anglicised to Charles William Siemens, was a German-British electrical engineer and businessman. Biography Siemens was born in the village of Lenthe, today part of Gehrden, near Han ...

) and another in

St.Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

( Carl von Siemens), each earning recognition. In 1867 Mr Halske withdrew from the company because his more conservative views on company policy diverged from those of the rather venturous Siemens brothers. In 1848, the company built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe; 500 km from Berlin to

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. In the 1850s, the company was involved in building long-distance telegraph networks in Russia. In 1867, Siemens completed the monumental Indo-European (

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) telegraph line and in 1870 a transatlantic communications cable. In 1857, Werner von Siemens described the

countercurrent exchange Countercurrent exchange is a mechanism occurring in nature and mimicked in industry and engineering, in which there is a crossover of some property, usually heat or some chemical, between two flowing bodies flowing in opposite directions to each ...

and in 1867 a

dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos were the first electrical generators capable of delivering power for industry, and the foundati ...

without permanent magnets. A similar system was also independently invented by

Charles Wheatstone Sir Charles Wheatstone FRS FRSE DCL LLD (6 February 1802 – 19 October 1875), was an English scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope (a device for di ...

, but Siemens became the first company to build such devices. In 1881, a Siemens AC

Alternator An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Gor ...

driven by a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

was used to power the world's first electric street lighting in the town of

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settlement ...

, United Kingdom. The company continued to grow and diversified into electric trains and light bulbs. In 1887 it opened its first office in Japan. In 1890, the founder retired and left running the company to his brother Carl and sons Arnold and Wilhelm. In 1888, Werner Siemens received hereditary

ennoblement Ennoblement is the conferring of nobility—the induction of an individual into the noble class. Currently only a few kingdoms still grant nobility to people; among them Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Vatican. Depending on time and reg ...

as ''von'' Siemens by

Frederick III, German Emperor Frederick III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known info ...

. His brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

had been

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

ed – becoming Sir William – by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

a few months before his death in 1883. The brother

Carl Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...

in St. Petersburg was ennobled by

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pol ...

in 1895. Werner's cousin and father-in-law, Carl Georg Siemens (1809–1885), a professor of technology at the

University of Hohenheim The University of Hohenheim (german: Universität Hohenheim) is a campus university located in the south of Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1818, it is Stuttgart's oldest university. Its primary areas of specialisation had traditionally be ...

, received personal ennoblement by the

King of Württemberg King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. Werner's nephew

Georg Georg may refer to: * Georg (film), ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also

* George (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

, co-founder of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York St ...

, was ennobled by

Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Emp ...

, in 1899. Siemens & Halske (S & H) was incorporated in 1897, and then merged parts of its activities with Schuckert & Co., Nuremberg in 1903 to become

Siemens-Schuckert Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...

. In 1919, S & H and two other companies jointly formed the

Osram Osram Licht AG is a German company that makes electric lights, headquartered in Munich and Premstätten (Austria). Osram positions itself as a high-tech photonics company that is increasingly focusing on sensor technology, visualization and t ...

lightbulb An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the ...

company. During the 1920s and 1930s, S & H started to manufacture radios,

television set A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...

s, and electron microscopes. In 1932, Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall (Erlangen), Phönix AG (Rudolstadt) and Siemens-Reiniger-Veifa mbH (Berlin) merged to form the

Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG Siemens Communications was the communications and information business arm of German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, until 2006. It was the largest division of Siemens, and had two business units – Mobile Networks and Fixed Networks; and E ...

(SRW), a producer of medical technology and the third of the so-called ''parent companies'' that

Ernst von Siemens Ernst Albrecht von Siemens (9 April 1903 in Kingston upon Hull – 31 December 1990 in Starnberg) was a German industrialist. Life Siemens was born in England when his father Carl Friedrich von Siemens was director of Siemens Brothers and return ...

decided in 1966 to merge to form the present-day

AG, which is one of the largest electro-technological firms in the world. The company, during all its stages from Siemens & Halske AG, Siemens-Schuckertwerke AG and Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG until its merger to

Siemens AG 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'', ''E ...

in 1966, has always been led by subsequent generations of the founder's family, at first by Werner's brother

, then by 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 U ...

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

and

Carl Friedrich Carl Joachim Friedrich (; ; June 5, 1901 – September 19, 1984) was a German-American professor and political theorist. He taught alternately at Harvard and Heidelberg until his retirement in 1971. His writings on state and constitutional theory ...

, later by his grandsons Hermann and

Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

, and until 1981 by his great-grandson

Peter von 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'', '' ...

. Today the descendants of Werner and Carl von Siemens have a minority ownership of 6.9% (by comparison: the

Ford family The family of Henry Ford is an American family from the U.S. state of Michigan, best known for their control of the Ford Motor Company automobile manufacturer, which was founded by Henry Ford in the early-twentieth century. Henry's grandson Will ...

controls the Ford Motor Company with a share of 2%), thus still being the largest single shareholder. Based on a market cap of €112billion, the Siemens family holds €7,7 billion worth of common stock in the company and received €201million in dividends in 2016. Considerable parts of this share have been endowed to charitable trusts controlled by family members. The family keeps a seat in the Siemens

Supervisory Board In corporate governance, a governance board also known as council of delegates are chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and fire the board of directors. In civil s ...

and is said to take influence in the background. Until 1981, the chairman of the Supervisory Board has always been a member of the family. The ''von Siemens'' are said to return to the chairmanship in the future should necessity require it or an eligible candidate be ready to run.''How can we live our values embracing our heritage?''
an interview with Dr. Nathalie von Siemens The clan's principal aim has always been to guarantee its 169 years old company independence, stability and solid growth.

Family Members

* (Ernst) Werner ''(since 1888) von'' Siemens (known as ''Werner'') (1816, Gehrden - 1892), inventor, founder of Siemens AG * (Carl) Wilhelm Siemens (known as ''(Charles) Wilhelm'' or ''Sir William Siemens'') (1823, Lenthe - 1883), brother of Werner von Siemens * Carl (Heinrich) von Siemens (1829, Menzendorf - 1906), brother of Werner von Siemens *

Georg von Siemens Georg von Siemens (21 October 1839 – 23 October 1901) was a German banker and liberal politician. Georg von Siemens was on the board of directors of the Deutsche Bank from 1870 to 1900. One of his top priorities was the financing of internati ...

(1839 – 1901), banker and politician, nephew of Werner von Siemens *

Alexander Siemens Alexander Siemens (22 January 1847 – 16 February 1928) was a German electrical engineer.Obituary ''Journal of the Institution of Electrical Engineers,'' 66 (1928), 1242–3 Siemens was born in Hanover, then a kingdom within the German Conf ...

(1847, Hanover - 1928), cousin of Werner von Siemens * Arnold ''(since 1888) von'' Siemens (1853, Berlin - 1918), son of Werner von Siemens * (Georg) Wilhelm ''(since 1888) von'' Siemens (known as ''Wilhelm'') (1855, Berlin - 1919), son of Werner von Siemens *

Carl Friedrich von Siemens Carl Friedrich von Siemens (5 September 1872, in Berlin – 9 September 1941, in Heinendorf, near Potsdam) was a German Entrepreneur and politician. A member of the Siemens family, he became associated with Siemens & Halske AG in 1899, his family ...

(1872, Berlin - 1941), son of Werner von Siemens * Hermann (Werner) von Siemens (1885, Berlin - 1986), grandson of Werner von Siemens *

(1903, Kingston upon Hull - 1990), grandson of Werner von Siemens *

(1911, Berlin - 1986), great-grandson of Werner von Siemens * Friedrich Siemens (born December 8, 1826 in Menzendorf, † May 24, 1904 in Dresden)

Images

File:Werner-von-Siemens.png,

(1816–1892), since 1888 ''Werner von Siemens'' File:Wilhelm Siemens.jpg, William Siemens (1823–1883), since 1883 ''Sir William Siemens'', brother of Werner File:1900ca Carl-von-Siemens.jpg, Carl Siemens (1829–1906), since 1895 ''Carl von Siemens'', brother of Werner File:Georg von Siemens.jpg, Georg Siemens (1839–1901), since 1899 ''Georg von Siemens'', nephew of Werner von Siemens, founding director of Deutsche Bank File:Arnold-von-Siemens.jpg,

Arnold von Siemens Arnold von Siemens (13 November 1853 in Berlin – 29 April 1918 in Berlin) was a German telecommunications industrialist of the Siemens family, one of the successors on his family's company Siemens. Life The eldest son of Werner von Siemens, ...

(1853–1918), son of Werner von Siemens File:Georg Wilhelm von Siemens.jpg,

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens Georg Wilhelm von Siemens (30 July 1855, Berlin – 14 October 1919, Arosa, Switzerland) was a German telecommunications industrialist of the Siemens family. Known as Wilhelm von Siemens, he was the second son of Werner von Siemens by first w ...

(1855–1919), son of Werner von Siemens File:Jacob Hilsdorf - Carl Friedrich von Siemens.jpg,

(1872–1941), son of Werner von Siemens File:Portrait of Friedrich Siemens (1826-1904), Inventor and Engineer (2553684712).jpg, Portrait of Friedrich Siemens (1826-1904), Inventor and Engineer

Family Tree

Family Branches

Branch from Ananias Siemens (Founding Father)

Generations 1-9

Descendants of Christian Ferdinand Siemens (partial excerpt)

Generations 7–12 (*) Leading function at ''Siemens & Halske'', ''Siemens Brothers & Co'' and/or

AG.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Prussian nobility German noble families