The ''Siemens family'' is the name of a German noble family, family of technology and telecommunications

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 ...

s, whose members were founders and to the present day the largest shareholders of

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

AG. The family had a wealth of over €8 billion, that made them the 5th richest family in Germany, according to Handelsblatt

History

Origin

The Siemens family was first documented in 1384 with Henning Symons, a farmer of the Free imperial city of

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The family tree begins with ''Ananias Siemens'' ( – 1591), a citizen, brewer and owner of an

oil mill An oil mill is a grinding mill designed to crush or bruise oil-bearing seeds, such as linseed or peanuts, or other oil-rich vegetable material, such as olives or the fruit of the oil palm, which can then be pressed to extract vegetable oils, whi ...

in Goslar, belonging to the Shoemaker's

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

, as his ancestors were shoemakers. His grandson Hans (1628–94), speaker of the Merchant's Guild and commander of the town's vigilance committee, built the Siemens House in Goslar in 1692. It is still owned by the family and houses their private archives and an exhibition on the family history. The Siemens family provided numerous members to Goslar city council as well as four mayors, the last being Johann Georg (1748–1807).

Development

The most important branches of the Goslar family - there are also other families with the same surname in Northern Germany - go back to the farmer Christian Ferdinand Siemens (1787–1840). His sons

Werner Siemens Ernst Werner Siemens (von Siemens from 1888; ; ; 13 December 1816 – 6 December 1892) was a German electrical engineer, inventor and industrialist. Siemens's name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens. He fou ...

(since 1888 ''von'' Siemens), (Carl) Wilhelm Siemens (known as ''Sir William Siemens''), Hans Siemens, Friedrich Siemens and Carl (Heinrich) von Siemens became engineers and entrepreneurs. Werner Siemens, a former artillery and engineering officer in the Prussian army, invented a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

that used a needle to point to the right letter instead of using

Morse code Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code i ...

. Based on this invention, he founded the company '' Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske'' on 1 October 1847, with the company taking occupation of its workshop on 12 October. His business partner

Johann Georg Halske Johann Georg Halske (30 July 1814 – 18 March 1890) was a German master mechanic. Biography Born in Hamburg, Halske started his own workshop in Berlin in 1844, which he ran together with his partner F. M. Böttcher. In 1847 Halske founded the ...

, a master mechanic, was particularly involved in the construction and design of electrical equipment such as the press which enabled wires to be insulated with a seamless coat of

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae, which is primarily used to create a high-quality latex of the same name. The material is rigid, naturally biologically Chemically inert, inert, resilient, electrically n ...

, the pointer telegraph, the

morse Morse may refer to: People * Morse (surname) * Morse Goodman (1917-1993), Anglican Bishop of Calgary, Canada * Morse Robb (1902–1992), Canadian inventor and entrepreneur Geography Antarctica * Cape Morse, Wilkes Land * Mount Morse, Churchi ...

telegraph and measuring instruments. The company was internationalised soon after its founding. One of Werner’s brothers represented him in England ( Sir William Siemens) and another in

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 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

( Carl von Siemens), each earning recognition. In 1867 Mr Halske withdrew from the company because his more conservative views on company policy diverged from those of the rather venturous Siemens brothers. In 1848 the company built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe, 500 km from Berlin to

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. In the 1850s the company was involved in building long-distance telegraph networks in Russia. In 1867 Siemens completed the monumental Indo-European (

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

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 ...

) telegraph line and in 1870 a

transatlantic communications cable A transatlantic telecommunications cable is a submarine communications cable connecting one side of the Atlantic Ocean to the other. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, each cable was a single wire. After mid-century, coaxial cable came into us ...

. In 1857, Werner von Siemens described the

countercurrent exchange Countercurrent exchange is a mechanism between two flowing bodies flowing in opposite directions to each other, in which there is a transfer of some property, usually heat or some chemical. The flowing bodies can be liquids, gases, or even solid ...

and in 1867 a

dynamo "Dynamo Electric Machine" (end view, partly section, ) A dynamo is an electrical generator that creates direct current using a commutator. Dynamos employed electromagnets for self-starting by using residual magnetic field left in the iron cores ...

without permanent magnets. A similar system was also independently invented by

Charles Wheatstone Sir Charles Wheatstone (; 6 February 1802 – 19 October 1875) was an English physicist and inventor best known for his contributions to the development of the Wheatstone bridge, originally invented by Samuel Hunter Christie, which is used to m ...

, but Siemens became the first company to build such devices. In 1881, a Siemens AC

Alternator An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...

driven by a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

was used to power the world's first electric street lighting in the town of

Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...

, United Kingdom. The company continued to grow and diversified into electric trains and

light bulbs Electric light is an artificial light source powered by electricity. Electric Light may also refer to: * Light fixture, a decorative enclosure for an electric light source * ''Electric Light'' (album), a 2018 album by James Bay * Electric Light ( ...

. In 1887 it opened its first office in Japan. In 1890, the founder retired and left running the company to his brother Carl and sons Arnold and Wilhelm. In 1888 Werner Siemens received hereditary

ennoblement Ennoblement is the conferring of nobility—the induction of an individual into the noble class. Currently only a few kingdoms still grant nobility to people; among them Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Vatican. Depending on time and reg ...

as ''von'' Siemens by

Frederick III, German Emperor Frederick III (Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 183115 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and his death in June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known informal ...

. His brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

had been

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed – becoming Sir William – by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

a few months before his death in 1883. The brother

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

in St Petersburg was ennobled by

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

in 1895. Werner's cousin and father-in-law, Carl Georg Siemens (1809–1885), a professor of technology at the

University of Hohenheim A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, received personal ennoblement from the

King of Württemberg King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

. Werner's nephew

Georg Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker * Spiders Georg "Spiders Georg" is an Internet meme that began circulating on the mic ...

, co-founder of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

, was ennobled by

Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

, in 1899. Siemens & Halske (S & H) was incorporated in 1897 and then merged parts of its activities with Schuckert & Co., Nuremberg, in 1903 to become

Siemens-Schuckert Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...

. In 1919 S & H and two other companies jointly formed the

Osram OSRAM Licht AG is a German company that makes electric lights, headquartered in Munich and Premstätten (Austria). OSRAM positions itself as a high-tech photonics company that is increasingly focusing on sensor technology, visualization and trea ...

lightbulb Electric light is an artificial light source powered by electricity. Electric Light may also refer to: * Light fixture, a decorative enclosure for an electric light source * ''Electric Light'' (album), a 2018 album by James Bay * Electric Light ( ...

company. During the 1920s and 1930s S & H started to manufacture

radios Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...

television set A television set or television receiver (more commonly called TV, TV set, television, telly, or tele) is an electronic device for viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or as a computer monitor. It combines a tuner, display, and loudspeake ...

s and

electron microscopes An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

. In 1932 Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall (Erlangen), Phönix AG (Rudolstadt) and Siemens-Reiniger-Veifa mbH (Berlin) merged to form the

Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG Siemens Communications was the communications and information business arm of German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG, until 2006. It was the largest division of Siemens, and had two business units – Mobile Networks and Fixed Networks; and En ...

(SRW), a producer of medical technology and the third of the so-called ''parent companies'' that

Ernst von Siemens Ernst Albrecht von Siemens (9 April 1903 in Kingston upon Hull, England – 31 December 1990 in Starnberg) was a German industrialist. Life Siemens was born in England when his father Carl Friedrich von Siemens was director of Siemens Brothers a ...

decided in 1966 to merge to form the present-day

AG, which is one of the largest electro-technological firms in the world. The company, during all its stages from Siemens & Halske AG, Siemens-Schuckertwerke AG and Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG until its merger to

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the posit ...

in 1966, has always been led by subsequent generations of the founder's family, at first by Werner's brother

, then by Werner's sons

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia U ...

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Wilhe ...

and

Carl Friedrich Carl Joachim Friedrich (; ; June 5, 1901 – September 19, 1984) was a German-American professor and political theorist. He taught alternately at Harvard and Heidelberg until his retirement in 1971. His writings on state and constitutional theory, ...

, later by his grandsons Hermann and

Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (born ...

, and until 1981 by his great-grandson

Peter von Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It is focused on Industrial control system, industrial automation, Building automation , building automation, rail transport a ...

. Today the descendants of Werner and Carl von Siemens have a minority ownership of 6.9% (by comparison: the

Ford family The Ford family is an American family from the U.S. state of Michigan. They are best known for their control of the Ford Motor Company automobile manufacturer which was originally founded by Henry Ford in the early Twentieth century. Henry's gra ...

controls the Ford Motor Company with a share of 2%), thus still being the largest single shareholder. Based on a market cap of €112 billion, the Siemens family holds €7.7 billion worth of common stock in the company and received €201 million in dividends in 2016. Considerable parts of this share have been endowed to charitable trusts controlled by family members. The family keeps a seat in the Siemens Supervisory Board and is said to take influence in the background. Until 1981, the chairman of the Supervisory Board has always been a member of the family. The ''von Siemens'' are said to return to the chairmanship in the future should necessity require it or an eligible candidate be ready to run.''How can we live our values embracing our heritage?''
an interview with Dr. Nathalie von Siemens The clan's principal aim has always been to guarantee its 169 years old company independence, stability and solid growth.

Family Members

* (Ernst) Werner ''(since 1888) von'' Siemens (known as ''Werner'') (1816, Gehrden – 1892), inventor, founder of Siemens AG * (Carl) Wilhelm Siemens (known as ''(Charles) Wilhelm'' or ''Sir William Siemens'') (1823, Lenthe - 1883), brother of Werner von Siemens * Carl (Heinrich) von Siemens (1829, Menzendorf - 1906), brother of Werner von Siemens *

Georg von Siemens Georg von Siemens (21 October 1839 – 23 October 1901) was a German banker and liberal politician. Georg von Siemens was on the board of directors of the Deutsche Bank from 1870 to 1900. One of his top priorities was the financing of internati ...

(1839 – 1901), banker and politician, nephew of Werner von Siemens * Alexander Siemens (1847, Hanover – 1928), cousin of Werner von Siemens * Arnold ''(since 1888) von'' Siemens (1853, Berlin – 1918), son of Werner von Siemens * (Georg) Wilhelm ''(since 1888) von'' Siemens (known as ''Wilhelm'') (1855, Berlin – 1919), son of Werner von Siemens *

Carl Friedrich von Siemens Carl Friedrich von Siemens (5 September 1872, in Berlin – 9 September 1941, in Heinendorf, near Potsdam) was a German Entrepreneur and politician. A member of the Siemens family, he became associated with Siemens & Halske AG in 1899, his famil ...

(1872, Berlin – 1941), son of Werner von Siemens * Hermann (Werner) von Siemens (1885, Berlin – 1986), grandson of Werner von Siemens *

(1903, Kingston upon Hull – 1990), grandson of Werner von Siemens *

(1911, Berlin – 1986), great-grandson of Werner von Siemens * Friedrich Siemens (December 8, 1826 Menzendorf – May 24, 1904, Dresden)

Images

File:Werner-von-Siemens.png,

(1816–1892), since 1888 ''Werner von Siemens'' File:Wilhelm Siemens.jpg,

William Siemens Sir Carl Wilhelm Siemens (4 April 1823 – 19 November 1883), anglicised to Charles William Siemens, was a German-British electrical engineer and businessman. autobiography Sir Carl Wilhelm Siemens FRS FRSA, anglicised to Charles William Sie ...

(1823–1883), since 1883 ''Sir William Siemens'', brother of Werner File:1900ca Carl-von-Siemens.jpg,

Carl Siemens Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

(1829–1906), since 1895 ''Carl von Siemens'', brother of Werner File:Georg von Siemens.jpg, Georg Siemens (1839–1901), since 1899 ''Georg von Siemens'', nephew of Werner von Siemens, founding director of Deutsche Bank File:Arnold-von-Siemens.jpg,

Arnold von Siemens Arnold von Siemens (13 November 1853 in Berlin – 29 April 1918 in Berlin) was a German telecommunications industrialist of the Siemens family, one of the successors on his family's company Siemens. Life The eldest son of Werner von Siemens, ...

(1853–1918), son of Werner von Siemens File:Georg Wilhelm von Siemens.jpg,

Georg Wilhelm von Siemens Georg Wilhelm von Siemens (30 July 1855, in Berlin – 14 October 1919, in Arosa, Switzerland) was a German telecommunications industrialist of the Siemens family. Known as Wilhelm von Siemens, he was the second son of Ernst Werner von Siemens, ...

(1855–1919), son of Werner von Siemens File:Jacob Hilsdorf - Carl Friedrich von Siemens.jpg,

(1872–1941), son of Werner von Siemens File:Portrait of Friedrich Siemens (1826-1904), Inventor and Engineer (2553684712).jpg, Portrait of Friedrich Siemens (1826-1904), Inventor and Engineer

Family Tree

Family Branches

Branch from Ananias Siemens (Founding Father)

Generations 1-9

Descendants of Christian Ferdinand Siemens (partial excerpt)

Generations 7–12 (*) Leading function at ''Siemens & Halske'', ''Siemens Brothers & Co'' and/or

AG.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Prussian nobility German noble families