Bernhard Goldenberg (20 March 1872 in

Dahlerau Dahlerau is a borough of Radevormwald in Oberbergischer Kreis, located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated in the valley of the river Wupper, about 7 km by road away from Radevormwald city centre. It was the site ...

– 30 May 1917 in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

) was a German engineer.

Life

Goldenberg was the son of Friedrich Goldenberg, the head of the dye works at the Wülfing works and son. Later he also did a practical training in mechanical engineering at the Wülfing works. After his mandatory military service, Goldenberg studied

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

and

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at the technical universities in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

before becoming a technical advisor to

Hugo Stinnes Hugo Adolf Eugen Victor Stinnes commonly known as Hugo Stinnes (12 February 1870 – 10 April 1924) was a German industrialist and politician who served as a member of Reichstag from 1920 to 1924 (his death). During the late era of the German Em ...

in 1899. In 1903, after a study trip that had primarily taken him to the

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

and Edison Electric Light Corporation plants in the US, he became Technical Director of Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG, and in this capacity was responsible for the technical implementation of the rapid expansion of

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

in the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

and

Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

. In this capacity, the power plants in Essen (1903), Reisholz (1909), Wesel (1912) and the promontory headquarters in

Knapsack A backpack, also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, pack, booksack, bookbag, haversack, packsack, or backsack, is in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders; b ...

(April 1914), later named after Goldenberg, were built in rapid succession. After his death in 1917, after a five-day hospital stay and battle with pneumonia, RWE named the Goldenberg-Werk lignite-fired power plant in Knapsack near Cologne after him at Stinnes' suggestion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldenberg, Bernhard Management occupations People associated with electricity People from Hürth 1872 births 1917 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in Germany