Ernst Jakob Homberger (5 July 1869 – 13 January 1955) was a Swiss industrialist. He was the director of the company Georg Fischer from 1902 and the director of the watch manufacturer

International Watch Company IWC International Watch Co. AG, founded International Watch Company, better known as IWC Schaffhausen, is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Originally founded in Switzerland by American watchmaker Florentine A ...

from 1905.

Family and early life

Homberger was born in 1869. He attended schools in St. Gallen and

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 ...

, and received a trade education at a school in

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

. He married Bertha Margaretha Rauschenbach in 1903, a daughter of Johannes Rauschenbach-Schenk. In the same year, his wife's sister Emma Rauschenbach married the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...

. Homberger and his wife had three sons who became notable rowers: Hans Homberger (1908–1986), Rudolf Homberger (1910–?), and Alex Homberger (1912–2007).

Professional career

After his education, Homberger started his working life in trading companies and banks in Zürich 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 ...

. He then worked for a bank in the

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. He returned to Switzerland in 1896 and worked for Kraftübertragungswerke Rheinfelden, a newly-formed company that had the concession for a hydroelectric generation plant in the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. Homberger quickly rose to become the company's authorised representative and was head of accounting. Homberger entered the management of the Georg Fischer company in

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

on behalf of a bank and soon purchased company shares for himself. Since 1902, Homberger was the company's commercial director. Through his 1903 marriage he became involved in the

together with his brother-in-law

. When Johannes Rauschenbach-Schenk died in 1905, both Jung and Homberger became shareholders alongside their wives, and Homberger became managing director. Homberger became sole owner in 1929 when he bought out Jung. In 1952, the

University of St. Gallen The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...

awarded an honorary economics doctorate (Dr. oec. h. c.) to Homberger. When Homberger died on 13 January 1955, his son Hans took over the company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homberger, Ernst 1869 births 1955 deaths Swiss watchmakers (people) People from Schaffhausen Swiss industrialists University of St. Gallen alumni People from St. Gallen (city) Swiss expatriates in England