Friedrich Engelhorn

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Lore & Background

Friedrich Engelhorn was born on 17 July 1821 in Mannheim, where his father was a head brewer and pub owner. He attended the local lyceum from age nine but left four years later to begin a three-year apprenticeship as a goldsmith. After traveling as a wandering journeyman to cities including Mainz, Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Geneva, Lyon, and Paris, he opened a goldsmith's shop in his hometown in 1847. Economic upheaval from the 1848 revolution caused his goldsmithery business to decline, leading him in summer 1848 to establish a private gasworks with two partners in Mannheim, producing bottled gas for lighting pubs and workshops. In 1851, due to his gas manufacture experience, Engelhorn was put in charge of building a new public gasworks in Mannheim and became its manager after it began operation in December of that year. In 1856, William Henry Perkin discovered a process to make the first commercial synthetic organic dye from aniline in coal tar distillate. Engelhorn quickly saw a business opportunity to apply Perkin's discovery to the large amounts of coal tar resulting from lighting gas manufacture. He founded a small aniline and dyestuff factory near the Mannheim gasworks, which began producing fuchsin in 1861. Four years later, wanting to enlarge his engagement in the chemical industry, Engelhorn and several partners founded the 'Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik' (BASF) on 6 April 1865. After the Mannheim town council refused to sell land, Engelhorn bought ground in neighboring Ludwigshafen the following day. He became commercial director of the corporation. BASF quickly became an important chemical company, employing over 300 workers within two years. Engelhorn also prioritized research, appointing chemist Heinrich Caro as first head of the laboratory in 1868. In collaboration with professors Carl Graebe and Carl Liebermann from Berlin University, the first synthetic dyestuff alizarin was discovered, patented in Prussia, France, and England in 1869. After quarrels with his partners, Engelhorn moved from managing to the supervisory board of BASF in 1884 and left the company a year later. In 1883 he had bought the medical firm 'Boehringer und Söhne' in Mannheim, and his oldest son became head of that factory the same year. Engelhorn also served on the supervisory boards of other companies, including the 'Deutsche Zelluloidfabrik' in Eilenburg, Saxonia. He died on 11 March 1902 in Mannheim. He was a Christian. In 1957, the new commercial department of BASF, a 101-meter high-rise landmark of the Ludwigshafen site, was named after him.

Reader's Guide

Friedrich Engelhorn's significance lies in his founding of BASF, which grew from a small aniline and dyestuff factory into a major chemical company and eventually a multinational corporation. His career shift from goldsmith to gasworks manager to chemical industrialist illustrates his ability to identify and capitalize on emerging industrial opportunities, particularly the application of Perkin's synthetic dye discovery to coal tar byproducts. Engelhorn's insistence on locating BASF in Ludwigshafen after Mannheim's refusal set the company's geographic base. His early commitment to chemical research, exemplified by hiring Heinrich Caro and supporting the discovery of alizarin, established a foundation for BASF's long-term innovation. Although he left the company after internal disputes, his legacy is physically marked by the Engelhorn high-rise at BASF's Ludwigshafen site, named in 1957. His broader impact includes the international expansion of BASF and his later involvement in the medical firm Boehringer und Söhne.

Did You Know?

• Friedrich Engelhorn started his career as a goldsmith after a three-year apprenticeship, before moving into gas production and chemical manufacturing.
• After the Mannheim town council refused to sell land for BASF, Engelhorn bought ground in neighboring Ludwigshafen the very next day.
• BASF employed more than 300 workers within just two years of its founding on 6 April 1865.
• Engelhorn appointed Heinrich Caro as BASF's first head of laboratory in 1868, leading to the discovery of the first synthetic dyestuff alizarin.
• In 1957, a 101-meter high-rise at BASF's Ludwigshafen site was named after Engelhorn.