Johann Zacherl
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Johann Zacherl (1814 – 30 June 1888) was an Austrian inventor,
industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
and manufacturer who made a fortune in the late 19th century selling dried flower heads of ''
Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium ''Tanacetum cinerariifolium'' is a species of flowering plant in the aster family, Asteraceae, and formerly part of the genus '' Pyrethrum'', but now placed in the genus '' Chrysanthemum'', or the genus '' Tanacetum'' by some biologists. It is ca ...
'' as an
insecticide Insecticides are pesticides used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. The major use of insecticides is in agriculture, but they are also used in home and garden settings, i ...
.


Biography

Zacherl was born in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
(Germany) in 1814. After finishing his studies, he left Munich to visit
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
and
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
. He eventually reached
Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
in the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
, where he discovered villagers used a natural insecticide, Pyrethrum, against
vermin Vermin (colloquially varmint(s) or varmit(s)) are pests or nuisance animals that spread diseases and destroy crops, livestock, and property. Since the term is defined in relation to human activities, which species are included vary by regi ...
. He began to develop the powder's trade with Austria in 1842. The powder received different names: Lowizachek (in Armenia), Bug Flower, Powder of Persia and Persian insect powder. After a longer stay in Tiflis, in 1855 he established his company, ''Mottenfraß-Versicherungsunternehmung Johann Zacherl'', in Vienna's 19th district, and began selling the
insect repellent An insect repellent (also commonly called "bug spray" or "bug deterrent") is a substance applied to the skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface. Insect repellent ...
''
Zacherlin Johann Zacherl (1814 – 30 June 1888) was an Austria-Hungary, Austrian inventor, industrialist and manufacturer who made a fortune in the late 19th century selling dried flower heads of ''Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium'' as an insecticide. B ...
''. With the help of his son, Johann Evangelist, he developed the
Pyrethrum ''Pyrethrum'' was a genus of several Old World plants now classified in either '' Chrysanthemum'' or '' Tanacetum'' which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants form ...
product line. Zacherl died in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
in 1888.


Zacherlin insecticide

Zacherl developed an effective, all-natural
moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...
insecticide made from
Pyrethrum ''Pyrethrum'' was a genus of several Old World plants now classified in either '' Chrysanthemum'' or '' Tanacetum'' which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum continues to be used as a common name for plants form ...
blossoms. He agreed with the chiefs of the villages to collect the flowers and ship them to Tiflis. He then ground the dried blossoms into powder, filled bags with it, and put them in sheep leathers for transport to Europe. He continued importing dried heads of ''Chrysanthemum Cinerariifolum'' and ''Chrysanthemum Coccineum'' directly from Tifflis until 1870, when he began producing it locally. His insecticide powder was called ''Zacherlin''. He developed other products, including a carpet-cleaning machine "distributing over the cleansed carpet the insecticide to guard it against the attack of moth" in 1882, a ''Pyrethrum Soap,'' and a ''tincture for destroying insects''. According to Hiscox, the insecticide was obtained as follows:
''The powder is obtained by brushing the dried flowers of the pellitory (pyrethrum). The leaves, too, are often used. (...) The active principle is not a volatile oil, as stated by some writers, but a
rosin Rosin (), also known as colophony or Greek pitch (), is a resinous material obtained from pine trees and other plants, mostly conifers. The primary components of rosin are diterpenoids, i.e., C20 carboxylic acids. Rosin consists mainly of r ...
, which can be dissolved out from the dry flowers by means of
ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R ...
. The leaves also contain this rosin but in. smaller proportions than the flowers. Tincture of pyrethrum is made by infusing the dried flowers in five times their weight of rectified
spirit of wine ''Aqua vitae'' (Latin for "water of life") or aqua vita is an archaic name for a strong aqueous solution of ethanol. These terms could also be applied to weak ethanol without rectification. Usage was widespread during the Middle Ages and the ...
. Diluted with water it is used as a lotion.'' (...) ''The dust resulting from the use of insect powder sometimes proves irritating to the mucous membranes of the one applying the powder. This is best avoided by the use of a spray atomizer.''
Zacherlin's packaging showed a
cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...
with a high cap and an atomizer in hand, a marketing strategy that proved very successful.


Architecture

The insecticide factory in
Döbling Döbling () is the 19th Districts of Vienna, district in the city of Vienna, Austria (). It is located in the north of Vienna, north of the districts Alsergrund and Währing. Döbling has some heavily populated urban areas with many residential bui ...
was designed by the architect Hugo von Wiedenfeld and constructed by Karl Mayreder in 1888–1892. Explicitly oriental in style, the polychromed brick building with pointed arches, two minarets and a dome was one of Vienna's most recognized structures. Since the collapse of the Zacherl company, the building has been used as a warehouse for carpets, furs and textiles. Today, it is used for art exhibitions and symposiums, in association with the contemporary art exhibitions ''Position:Gegenwart'' at Jesuit's Church of Vienna. Zacherl's son, Johann Evangelist Zacherl, commissioned
Jože Plečnik Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovenian architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge a ...
to build the office building Zacherlhaus in Vienna's
Innere Stadt The Innere Stadt (; ; "Inner City") is the 1st municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the I ...
from 1903 to 1905. It includes a row of atlantes along the cornice line by sculptor
Franz Metzner Franz Metzner (18 November 1870, Všeruby (Plzeň-North District), Wscherau, near Plzeň – 24 March 1919, Berlin) was an influential German sculptor, particularly his sculptural figures integrated into the architecture of Central European publ ...
.


References


External links


Zacherlfabrik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zacherl, Johann 1814 births 1888 deaths Industrialists from Austria-Hungary Businesspeople from Munich Businesspeople from the Austrian Empire Burials at Döbling Cemetery