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Daniël George van Beuningen (4 March 1877 – 29 May 1955) was a Dutch businessman.
van Beuningen was a collector of art from the 15th and 16th century out of the northern and southern parts of the Netherlands. During his life he gave several of his collections away to the
Daniël George van Beuningen (4 March 1877 – 29 May 1955) was a Dutch businessman.
Early life
van Beuningen was born inUtrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
, on 4 March 1877. He was the son of Hendrik Adriaan van Beuningen, and Anna Lavenia Brain of Kelmscott. However, he made his reputation in Rotterdam where he focused on the economic transformation of the port of that city, which became one of the largest ports in the world in those days. He was a well known celebrity, not only in the city itself but also across the Netherlands and further afield.
Steel and coal
His father was co-founder of the Steenkolen Handels Vereniging, which became important during theWorld War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
supplying both the English and German armies with coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
. Daniël was involved as a prominent member of the Dutch Coal Trade Union, an organisation which represented the Rhenish-Westphalian Coal Syndicate in the Netherlands. He started shipping German coal to Rotterdam to compete with coal imported from England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. This involved the choice of barges rather than railway wagons to ship coal and led to major advances in the mechanical handling of coal. van Beuningen went on to lead a large number of companies in the port of Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest seaport in Europe, and the world's largest seaport outside of Asia, located in and near the city of Rotterdam, in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004, it was the List of bus ...
, and after the war he owned most of these companies and became active in Rotterdam society. In 1937, he was one of the co-financial partners of the newly built Stadion Feijenoord
Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...
, buying the ground where the stadium was built and was one of the founders for the Harbour Hospital in the city. During the World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1941 he resigned. In 1954, several months before his death in Arlesheim
Arlesheim is a town and a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Its cathedral chapter seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance ...
, on 29 May 1955, aged 78. The van Beuningen family was forced to withdraw completely out of the SHV Holdings, as there was no placeable family member to become director.
Art collector
van Beuningen was a collector of art from the 15th and 16th century out of the northern and southern parts of the Netherlands. During his life he gave several of his collections away to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from its two most important donors, Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. The museum is located a ...
.
His sales of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
are the subject of controversy, in particular concerning drawings from the Koenigs collection.
Family life
During his life he married three times. His first marriage was to Mies Schout Velthuys, but because of his hard work they hardly saw each other. She died in 1926, aged 43. A short second marriage to Odette Paule Fernande Ragoulleau ended in divorce. In 1938, he married for a third time to Bep Charlouis. His grandnephew Willem van Dedem was also a noted art collector.See also
* Dirk Hannema * Franz Koenigs * Hans PosseReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beuningen, Daniel George van 1877 births 1955 deaths Businesspeople from Rotterdam Dutch art collectors Feyenoord