Christian Peter Wilhelm Friedrich Beuth (28 December 1781 – 27 September 1853) was a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n statesman, involved in the

Prussian reforms The Prussian Reform Movement was a series of constitutional, administrative, social and economic reforms early in nineteenth-century Prussia. They are sometimes known as the Stein-Hardenberg Reforms, for Karl Freiherr vom Stein and Karl August ...

and the main mover in Prussia's industrial renewal.

Life and career

Beuth was born in

Cleves Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...

; his father was an artist. He entered the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

in 1798 to study law and

cameralism Cameralism ( German: ''Kameralismus'') was a German science of public administration in the 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed at strong management of a centralized economy for the benefit mainly of the state. The discipline in its most n ...

. In 1799 he became a member of the Corps Guestphalia Halle. He entered the Prussian civil service in 1801, becoming Assessor in Bayreuth in 1806, followed in 1809 by a position in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

and in 1810 at the head of the taxation section of the finance ministry in Berlin. In 1813/14 he was a member of the

Lützow Free Corps Lützow Free Corps ( ) was a volunteer force of the Prussian army during the Napoleonic Wars. It was named after its commander, Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow. The Corpsmen were also widely known as the “''Lützower Jäger''“ or “''Schwarz ...

and fought in the liberation campaign against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

; he was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

2nd class. Beuth was a member of the Deutsche Tischgesellschaft, founded in Berlin in 1811 by

Achim von Arnim Carl Joachim Friedrich Ludwig von Arnim (26 January 1781 – 21 January 1831), better known as Achim von Arnim, was a German poet, novelist, and together with Clemens Brentano and Joseph von Eichendorff, a leading figure of German Romanticism. ...

and Adam Heinrich Müller. This was an antisemitic organisation, and he expressed disapproval of equality under the law for Jews. In his position in the finance ministry, Beuth was a member of the commission for the reform of taxation and manufacturing in the office of the Chancellor Karl August von Hardenberg; after the end of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

he participated in drafting the new tax laws of 1817. In 1821 he was promoted to ''Staatsrat'', and in 1830 he became director of the Department of Manufacturing, Trade and Construction, a position he held until 1845. He left the ministry in autumn 1845 with the rank of ''Wirklicher Geheimer Rat'' (full privy councillor), but remained a member of the council of state. He died in Berlin in 1853 and is buried in the

Dorotheenstadt cemetery The Dorotheenstadt Cemetery, officially the Cemetery of the Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichswerder Parishes, is a landmarked Protestant burial ground located in the Berlin district of Mitte which dates to the late 18th century. The entrance to the ...

near his friend

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...

. His grave is recognised as an honorary grave of the City of Berlin and was designed by Reinhold Begas.

References

1781 births 1853 deaths Prussian politicians People from Kleve {{Germany-politician-stub

Life and career

See also

References