Jean-Antoine Auguste Metz (8 August 1812 – 22 June 1854) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

ian entrepreneur, politician, and lawyer. He was a major player in the growing steel industry in Luxembourg during the nineteenth century, as well as a leading liberal member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon ...

, along with his brothers. Born in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the G ...

as the youngest of nine children of Jean Metz, Auguste Metz attended the

Athénée de Luxembourg The Athénée de Luxembourg ( en, Luxembourg Athenaeum), is a high school situated in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. Throughout the school's history of more than 400 years, the name was changed repeatedly. It's nowadays commonly called ...

, before leaving to study law at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...

in 1833. He gained his licence to practice law in France, but returned to Luxembourg, where he became involved in the

steel industry Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant t ...

. In 1837, Metz and his brothers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

and

Norbert Norbert is a Germanic given name, from ''nord'' "north" and ''berht'' "bright". Norbert is also occasionally found as a surname. People with the given name Academia * Norbert Angermann (born 1936), German historian * Norbert A’Campo (born 1941 ...

, were given a ten-year lease of the steel mill at Berbourg. They formed a company, ''Auguste Metz & Cie'', along with

Théodore Pescatore Théodore Pescatore (6 February 1802 – 23 August 1878) was a Luxembourgian politician. One of the most important liberals in the mid-19th century,Mersch (1949), p. 506 he was president of the Constituent Assembly that wrote Luxembourg's Constit ...

, for the purpose of expanding and redeveloping the site. The company expanded, taking over foundries at

Grundhof Grundhof ( da, Grumtoft) is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous ...

, in the

Red Lands The Red Lands form a geographic region in southern and south-western Luxembourg. They are so called for their red iron-laden earth. The Red Lands roughly correspond with the southern part of the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette, along the border with Fra ...

, at Eich, and at Fischbach. He first became involved in politics through his opposition to the

Third Partition of Luxembourg There have been three Partitions of Luxembourg between 1659 and 1839. Together, the three partitions reduced the territory of the Duchy of Luxembourg from to the present-day area of over a period of 240 years. The remainder forms parts of mode ...

in 1839.Mersch (1963), p. 564 In 1848, Metz sat on Luxembourg's

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected ...

, and then the first

, elected in 1848 to represent

Grevenmacher Grevenmacher (; ) is a commune with town status in eastern Luxembourg, near the border with Germany. It gives its name to and is the capital of the canton of Grevenmacher, and, until its abolition in 2015, the district of Grevenmacher. The town ...

. He was targeted in the 1854 election by the

Simons Simons is a surname of Scandinavian origins and a variant of Sigmundsson, a patronymic surname with roots in proto-Germanic ''*segaz'' and ''*mundō'', giving a rough translation of "protection through victory". Notable people A * Alan Si ...

government.Mersch (1963), p. 565 He would not live to see the assembly of the new Chamber of Deputies, however, as he died in Eich just eight days after the election, having fallen ill inspecting the foundry at Berbourg, exacerbated by

tonsillitis Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils in the upper part of the throat. It can be acute or chronic. Acute tonsillitis typically has a rapid onset. Symptoms may include sore throat, fever, enlargement of the tonsils, trouble swallowing, a ...

. He married Petronille Laeis on 17 August 1841. They had four children, including Léon Metz, who became a member of the Chamber of Deputies for forty-three years and Mayor of Esch-sur-Alzette for three years.Mersch (1963), p. 399

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* Members of the Constituent Assembly of Luxembourg Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg from Grevenmacher Luxembourgian businesspeople 19th-century Luxembourgian lawyers University of Paris alumni Alumni of the Athénée de Luxembourg Luxembourgian classical liberals Auguste Metz 1812 births 1854 deaths People from Luxembourg City Steel industry of Luxembourg {{Luxembourg-bio-stub

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