Emil Kolben (1 November 1862 in Strančice – 3 July 1943 in

Terezín Terezín (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town. The town centre i ...

) was an engineer and entrepreneur from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. The large engineering company

ČKD ČKD (Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk) () was one of the largest engineering companies in the former Czechoslovakia and today's Czech Republic. It is famous for the Tatra T3, a tramcar that sold 13,991 units worldwide. History ČKD was formed i ...

bears his name. He died in the

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

Biography

Kolben was born into the German-speaking Jewish family of a small shopkeeper in the village of Strančice, southeast from

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He had nine siblings and from the age of 15 he was left to care for himself. After completing his secondary education in Prague, Kolben studied there at the German Technical University. After finishing university he obtained a two-year Gerstner's stipend that allowed him to study abroad. In 1887 he traveled to

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and in April 1888 he sailed with his wife Malvinus to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, where he stayed for five years. After arriving in New York he set off on further study trips traveling across the country. He obtained a position as an engineer at the

Edison Machine Works The Edison Machine Works was a manufacturing company set up to produce dynamos, large electric motors, and other components of the electrical illumination system being built in the 1880s by Thomas A. Edison in New York City. In 1892, its Schene ...

Schenectady Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, then as an assistant of

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase o ...

and finally as the chief-engineer in Edison's laboratories. In 1889 he visited the laboratory of

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

to learn about the poly-phase

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in w ...

motors and power system the inventor was developing there. In 1892 Kolben returned to Europe and for two years worked as the chief-designer in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

for company Oerlikon which manufactured poly-phase alternating current generators. In 1896 he returned to Bohemia and, in the same year, set up a company named "''Kolben a spol.''" in

Vysočany Vysočany (German: Wissotschan) is a part of Prague in the Prague 9 administrative district (partly in Prague 3), Czech Republic. It lays in the eastern part of Prague around the valley with Rokytka river.History *The first recorded information a ...

, an industrial district of Prague. A 60 kW alternator was the first system constructed. With secured financial investment from a bank the company became a stock holding company in 1898. In 1899 it was renamed to "''Elektrotechnická a. s.''". In 1911 Kolben invited Edison to visit Prague. The company produced large electrotechnical systems such as hydro-electric power stations,

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s and machines. Used technologies and equipment were much above standards of the time – for example instead of using a centralized power source and mechanical transmitters the machines were fitted with electrical engines. In 1921 the company merged with another engineering company "''Českomoravská strojírna''" into "''Českomoravská-Kolben a. s.''". In 1927 it merged with "''A. s. strojírny''" (formerly "''Breitfeld & Daněk''") into "''Českomoravská-Kolben-Daněk''", the

. Kolben had served as the director until 1939. The company produced a wide array of electrotechnic and engineering systems and also complete industrial plants. ČKD employed up to 15,000 people. Kolben also founded two other companies: "''Pražská továrna na káble''" in Prague-

Hostivař Hostivař () is a cadastral area in southern Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava Ri ...

(power cables) and "''Pražská elektroinstalační společnost''" in Prague-

Hloubětín Hloubětín (, ) is a district of Prague located from the centre, belonging mostly to Prague 9, with parts of it also belonging to Prague 14 and Prague 10. There were 10,704 people living in this area in 2001. The area, first recorded in the 13 ...

(wiring systems). He published dozens of articles, mostly about electrotechnic and engineering. Immediately after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi-Germany (1939) Kolben was recalled from his position as the director (March 16) and later imprisoned in the

concentration camp Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

. He died there abandoned and exhausted. Almost all members of his family were imprisoned; 26 of them were killed by the Germans. His grandson Jindřich (b. 1926) survived. ČKD was heavily damaged during the last days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It later employed up to 50,000 people and was known mainly for locomotives and

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

s. Mismanagement during the new free-market era (1990s) and technological delay accumulated during previous decades resulted in bankruptcy in 1998 and a massive reduction in production.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * *

Exhibition, film, and radio

* ''The Kolben Family Story'' Prague, The Jewish Museum: Robert Guttmann Gallery, Prague 1, U Staré školy 3. From February 15 until April 15, 2007, open daily 9 a.m. – 4.30 p.m. except Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Exhibition curator: Dr. Arno Pařík
The short-lived legacy of industrial giant Emil Kolben - Radio Prague
(by Dita Asiedu)
Familie Kolben: Eine Industriellenfamilie im Strudel der Zeit - 24-02-2007 - Radio Prag
(German, by Andreas Wiedemann)

Legacy and honors

* The Prague Metro station

Kolbenova Kolbenova () is a Prague Metro station on Line B. It was opened on 8 June 2001 as an addition to the previously opened section of Line B. History This station was once a ghost station from 1998 to 2001. The station was in a state of suspended co ...

is named after him.

External links

Short biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolben, Emil 1862 births 1943 deaths People from Prague-East District Jews from Bohemia Czechoslovak engineers Czechoslovak businesspeople Czech people who died in the Theresienstadt Ghetto Engineers from Austria-Hungary Czech industrialists