Édouard Gustav Bunge (16 October 1851 – 19 November 1927) was a Belgian businessman, banker, and philanthropist. He was a close associate of Leopold II and one of the main investors in the

Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company The Abir Congo Company (founded as the Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company and later known as the Compagnie du Congo Belge) was a company that exploited natural rubber in the Congo Free State, the private property of King Leopold II of Belgiu ...

and the

Société Anversoise du Commerce au Congo The Société Anversoise () was a concession company of the Congo Free State,. headquartered in Antwerp. It was, with the Lulonga Company and the Abir Congo Company The Abir Congo Company (founded as the Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company a ...

, which exploited rubber in the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

Early life

Bunge was born on 16 October 1851, in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

in the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

of Belgium. He was a son of Charles Gustave Bunge (1811–1884) and Laura (née Fallenstein) Bunge (1820–1899). His brother, Ernest Bunge, was the father of Ivan Bunge of

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

, and the grandfather of Gerard Michel Bunge. His maternal grandparents were Georg Friedrich Fallenstein (a close friend of

Georg Gottfried Gervinus Georg Gottfried Gervinus (20 May 1805 – 18 March 1871) was a German literary and political historian. Biography Gervinus was born in Darmstadt. He was educated at the gymnasium of the town, and intended for a commercial career, but in 1825 he b ...

) and Elisabeth (née Benecke) Fallenstein. Through his aunt, Helene Fallenstein (who was married to

Max Weber Sr. Wilhelm Maximilian Weber (May 31, 1836 – August 10, 1897) was a German lawyer, municipal official and National Liberal politician. He was the father of the social scientists Max and Alfred Weber. Biography Wilhelm Maximilian Weber was born i ...

), he was a first cousin of the prominent German sociologist and historian

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

and economist

Alfred Weber Carl David Alfred Weber (; 30 July 1868 – 2 May 1958) was a German economist, geographer, sociologist, philosopher, and theoretician of culture whose work was influential in the development of modern economic geography. His other work ...

Career

Bunge began working for the family business, today known as

Bunge Limited Bunge Global SA (''BUN-ghee'') is a global agribusiness and food company, incorporated in Geneva, Switzerland and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. As well as being an international soybean exporter, it is also involved in f ...

, which had been founded by his grandfather, Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in 1818 as an import-export business. In 1859, Édouard relocated the family company to

. Edouard's brother Ernest brought the company into

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in 1884 and, in 1905, the business extended to Brazil and later on to the United States.

Personal life

In 1886 Bunge was married to Marie-Sophie Karcher (1863–1907). Together, they were the parents of: * Sophia-Laura Bunge (1887–1959), who married Felix Rhodius. * Dorothée Emilie Bunge (1889–1918), who married Victor Théodore Bracht. * Erica Bunge (1891–1986), who married Milton McIntyre Brown. * Eva Maria Bunge (b. 1894), who married Andrew James Widderson,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. * Hilda Bunge (1895–1980), who married American industrialist William Hallam Tuck in Antwerp in 1920. He was a son of Judge

Somerville Pinkney Tuck Somerville Pinkney Tuck Jr. (May 3, 1891 – April 21, 1967) was an American diplomat. Early life Tuck was born on May 3, 1891, in New Brighton, Staten Island, New York, a son of Somerville Pinkney Tuck (1848–1923) and Emily Rosalie S ...

, and brother to Ambassador

and businessman Alexander J. M. Tuck. Before his death, "he donated a large sum for the establishment of an institute of medicine and surgery for the study of the most modern methods of science." Bunge died on 18 November 1927, in

Ekeren Ekeren () is a northern district of the municipality of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The suburb celebrated its 850th birthday in 2005; the name of the town was first mentioned in 1155, as "Hecerna". The name possibly originates from ...

, Belgium.

Descendants

Through his daughter Dorothée, he was a grandfather of Charles Victor Bracht, who was created a baron in 1967 for his services to industry and was later kidnapped and murdered.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunge, Edouard 1851 births 1927 deaths Businesspeople from Antwerp Belgian businesspeople Belgian business executives