Joseph Eugène Schneider (29 March 1805 – 27 November 1875) was a French

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 ...

and politician. In 1836, he co-founded the Schneider company with his brother, Adolphe Schneider. For many years he was a

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

, and he was briefly Minister of Commerce and Agriculture in 1851.

Early life

Eugène Schneider was born on 29 March 1805 in Bidestroff, in the départment of

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A ...

, France. He was the brother of Adolphe Schneider (1802–45), who served as a Deputy from 1842 to 1845. His father died when he was young, and he took a modest job in a trading house in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

, then in the bank of Baron François-Alexandre Seillière.

Business career

Schneider showed great aptitude for business, and at the age of 25 was appointed a director of the forges at Bazeilles. In 1833, his brother was appointed managing director of Le Creuzot, and he was added as co-manager the same year. He made a powerful contribution to the prosperity of this establishment. After his brother died Schneider became the sole director of Le Creuzot and soon was a powerful industrialist. In the crisis year of 1848

Charles de Wendel Charles de Wendel (13 December 1809 – 15 April 1870) was a French steel manufacturer in Lorraine and a deputy in the French legislative assembly. Origins The de Wendel family can be traced back to Jean Wendel of Bruges, who married Marie de Wan ...

and Eugène Schneider saved the foundry at Fourchambault from bankruptcy by co-signing a huge bank loan. Schneider obtained a monopoly in supplying arms to the French government, supplied the materials for government-encouraged railway construction. What would become the

Comité des forges The Comité des forges (Foundry Committee) was an organization of leaders of the French iron and steel industry from 1864 to 1940, when it was dissolved by the Vichy government. It typically took a protectionist attitude on trade issues, and was o ...

was founded in 1864. The committee had the goals of managing relations between the industry and government, promoting exports and coordinating prices. Eugène Schneider was the first president. There were ten members, each representing a region.

Political career

After his brother's death Eugène Schneider was elected General Counselor of Couches and Montcenis. He was elected Deputy of the 5th college of

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

(Autun) on 13 September 1845. During the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...

, Schneider was a deputy until 24 February 1848, sitting with the government majority. During the

French Second Republic The French Second Republic (french: Deuxième République Française or ), officially the French Republic (), was the republican government of France that existed between 1848 and 1852. It was established in February 1848, with the February Re ...

Schneider ran unsuccessfully in 1848 for election to the Constituent Assembly, and again ran unsuccessfully in 1849 for election to the Legislative Assembly. On 20 January 1851, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, President of the Republic, invited Schneider to join an interim cabinet as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, which he kept until 10 April 1851. Schneider was then appointed Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

. Schneider supported the ''coup d'état'' of 2 December 1851 that launched the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s ...

. He became a member of the consultative commission, and on 29 February 1852 was elected to the '' Corps législatif'' for the 2nd constituency of Saône-et-Loire, running as the official candidate. He was reelected in turn of 22 June 1857, 1 June 1863 and 24 May 1869. Schneider was President of the Corps from 2 April 1867 to 4 September 1870. When Jérôme David was reappointed Vice-President in June 1869, this was seen as a promise to the reactionary party, and Schneider submitted his resignation. He agreed to remain only at the personal request of the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

. He was a member of the '' Corps législatif'' until 4 September 1870, always sitting with the dynastic majority.

Death

Schneider died on 27 November 1875 in Paris. He was buried in the San Charles church in Le Creusot (Saône-et-Loire). His son

Henri Schneider Henri Adolphe Eugène Schneider (18 December 1840 – 17 May 1898) was a French businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1889 to 1898. Henri Schneider was born in Le Creusot, rural France. His father, Eugè ...

took over control of the Le Creusot foundry.

Legacy

He is one of the 72 names inscribed on the Eiffel Tower.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Eugene 1805 births 1875 deaths French Ministers of Agriculture and Commerce Regents of the Banque de France 19th-century French businesspeople French company founders People from Moselle (department) Schneider Electric people Société Générale Members of the 4th Corps législatif of the Second French Empire Members of the 3rd Corps législatif of the Second French Empire Members of the 2nd Corps législatif of the Second French Empire Members of the 1st Corps législatif of the Second French Empire Members of the 7th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur