Friedrich Engelhorn

Lore & Background

Friedrich Engelhorn was born on 17 July 1821 in Mannheim, where his father was a head brewer and pub owner. At age nine he attended the local lyceum but left four years later to begin a three-year apprenticeship as a goldsmith. After traveling as a wandering journeyman to 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 hurt his goldsmithery business, 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 he 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 for the first commercial synthetic organic dye from aniline in coal tar distillate. Engelhorn saw a business opportunity in applying Perkin's discovery to the large amounts of coal tar from lighting gas manufacture, and founded a small aniline and dyestuff factory near the Mannheim gasworks. In 1861 that factory began producing fuchsin. Four years later, wanting to enlarge his engagement in the chemical industry, Engelhorn founded the 'Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik' (BASF) on 6 April 1865 with several partners. After the Mannheim town council refused to sell land, Engelhorn bought ground in neighboring Ludwigshafen the next day. He became commercial director of the corporation. BASF was a great success, employing over 300 workers within two years. In 1868 Engelhorn appointed chemist Heinrich Caro as first head of the company's laboratory; collaboration with professors Carl Graebe and Carl Liebermann led to the discovery of the first synthetic dyestuff alizarin, patented in Prussia, France and England in 1869.

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. His shift from goldsmith to gasworks manager to chemical industrialist illustrates the transformative economic opportunities of the 19th century, particularly the exploitation of coal tar byproducts for synthetic dyes. Engelhorn's early recognition of Perkin's discovery and his ability to secure a site in Ludwigshafen after Mannheim's refusal were pivotal. Under his direction, BASF invested in chemical research, leading to the discovery of alizarin, a breakthrough in synthetic dye production. The company expanded internationally with sales offices in New York (1873), a production site near Moscow (1876), and a factory in France (1878). After leaving BASF in 1885, Engelhorn had already purchased the medical firm Boehringer und Söhne in Mannheim in 1883. His legacy is commemorated by the Engelhorn high-rise, built in 1957 as a landmark of the Ludwigshafen BASF site. Engelhorn's career exemplifies the rise of the German chemical industry and the entrepreneurial drive that turned scientific discoveries into global enterprises.

Did You Know?

• Engelhorn originally trained as a goldsmith and opened a goldsmith's shop in Mannheim in 1847.
• He founded a private gasworks in Mannheim in summer 1848 after the 1848 revolution hurt his goldsmithery business.
• BASF was founded on 6 April 1865, and Engelhorn bought land in Ludwigshafen the day after Mannheim's town council refused to sell.
• In 1883 Engelhorn bought the medical firm Boehringer und Söhne in Mannheim.

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