Heinrich Thyssen (31 October 1875 – 26 June 1947), after 22 June 1907 Heinrich, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva, was a Hungarian-German

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

Biography

Thyssen was born in

Mülheim an der Ruhr Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr (, ; ; ) and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home ...

, the second son of German

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 ...

August Thyssen August Thyssen (; 17 May 1842 – 4 April 1926) was a German industrialist, founder and controlling shareholder of Thyssen & Co (presently ThyssenKrupp). He was a prominent member of the Thyssen family. Early life and education Thyssen was b ...

. Heinrich Thyssen had abandoned

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 ...

as a young man and, after studying chemistry at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

and philosophy at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and obtaining a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

, he settled in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in 1905 and married Baroness Margit Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (

Csetény Csetény is a village in Veszprém county, Hungary in Zirc District Zirc () is a district in north-eastern part of Veszprém County. ''Zirc'' is also the name of the town where the district seat is found. The district is located in the Central T ...

Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...

, 23 July 1887 –

Locarno Locarno (; ; Ticinese dialect, Ticinese: ; formerly in ) is a southern Switzerland, Swiss List of towns in Switzerland, town and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district Locarno (district), Locarno (of which it is the capita ...

, 17 April 1971) 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. ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

on 4 January 1906 and became a citizen of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. In

on 22 June 1907 he was adopted by his father-in-law, Gábor, Baron Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (

Kolozsvár Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, 20 April 1859 –

, 21 April 1915), the King's chamberlain who, having no sons of his own, adopted Heinrich.

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, Emperor-King of

granted him the hereditary title and rank of a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

in the Hungarian nobility in 1907. His mother-in-law was

English American English Americans (also known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.6 million America ...

Mathilde Louise Price ( Wilmington,

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, 14 March 1865 –

, 19 January 1959 and married at Vienna on 16 May 1883), who was a sister of

Anne Hollingsworth Price Anne, Baroness Dőry de Jobaháza, formerly Princess Anna of Ardeck (''née'' Anne Hollingsworth Price) (August 25, 1868 – April 24, 1945) was an American heiress and actress who married into the European aristocracy. Early life Anne was born on ...

(wife of Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Ardeck) and they were descendants of the Winthrop family, and related to Daniel M. Frost and

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

. The couple lived at the castle of Rohonc until after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the uprising of

Béla Kun Béla Kun (, born Béla Kohn; 20 February 1886 – 29 August 1938) was a Hungarian communist revolutionary and politician who in 1919 governed the Hungarian Soviet Republic. After attending Franz Joseph University at Kolozsvár (today Cluj-N ...

, when they fled and moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

from whence they directed some of the Thyssen commercial and industrial interests, including the ''Bank voor Handel en Scheepvaart''. In 1926 he had refused to participate in the Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG, founded by his elder brother

Fritz Thyssen Friedrich "Fritz" Thyssen (9 November 1873 – 8 February 1951) was a German businessman, born into one of Germany's leading industrial families. He was an early supporter and financial backer of the Nazi Party but later broke with it. He was ar ...

, although becoming a board member, but kept his own inherited wealth, including his father's foreign investments and some German companies apart from the Thyssen steelworks, in a separate organization, the ''August Thyssensche Unternehmungen des In- und Auslandes, GmbH'', today Thyssen-Bornemisza Group Holdings N.V. (TBG). In 1932, he moved to

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

and started to enlarge his

art collection A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, repl ...

, to which he had already been adding new items since the 1920s. His preference was for classic and modern painting, although he disliked 20th-century painting. Among other works, he bought from the estate of the American

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

Otto Hermann Kahn Otto Hermann Kahn (February 21, 1867 – March 29, 1934) was a German-born American investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Kahn was a well-known figure, appearing on the cover of ''Time'' magazine and was sometimes ...

, ''

Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( 13 April 68 BC – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. ...

'' of the Metropolitan Opera House of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, in 1935, the painting '' Portrait of a Knight'' by

Vittore Carpaccio Vittore Carpaccio ( , , ; – ) was an Italian painter of the Venetian School (art), Venetian school who studied under Gentile Bellini. Carpaccio was largely influenced by the style of the early Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina ...

, which currently remains in the collection. In

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

he bought from many famous collections other famous paintings such as the portrait of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; ; – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He ...

from the Spencer collection. Thyssen divorced his first wife on 17 March 1932 and married Else Zarske, known as Maud (born in Thorn on 17 April 1909), at

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on 29 August 1932. Maud was maintaining an affair with Georgian polo player Alexis Mdivani which was revealed in 1935 following her car accident in which Mdivani died. They divorced in 1937 without issue. He married his third wife, Gunhild von Fabrice (born in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

on 5 March 1908) in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

on 15 November 1937. He died in

in 1947.

Children

His children by first marriage were: * Henrik Gábor ''István'' Ágost Freiherr Thyssen- Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (

Rechnitz Rechnitz (, , Romani: ''Rochonca'') is a municipality in Burgenland in the Oberwart district in Austria. Geography The municipality is located in southern Burgenland, on the border with Hungary, near Bozsok and Szombathely. The highest mount ...

(Rohonc), 26 July 1907 –

New York County Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, 23 January 1981), married firstly in Corpus Christi, Nueces County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, 27 April 1929 Elisabeth Clarkson, without issue, married secondly in

, 24 May 1932 Ilona Kugler (

Pilismarót Pilismarót is a village in Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary. It is located on the right bank of the Danube. History The history of the village goes back to the prehistoric age: precious findings turned up in its outskirts and the most signif ...

, 20 March 1905 –

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 ...

, 26 September 1992), without issue, married thirdly Ingeborg Muller, one step-daughter Birgit. * ''Margit'' Gabriella Lujza Freiin Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (

(Rohonc), 21/22 June 1911 –

-Castagnola, 15 September 1989), "The Killer Countess", married in

Gandria Gandria is both a Quarter (country subdivision), quarter of the city of Lugano in the Switzerland, Swiss Ticino, canton of Ticino, and a village on the northern shore of Lake Lugano, which forms the core of that quarter. Until 2004, the quarter of ...

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

, 17 June 1933 Count Johann Maria Josef Ladislaus Batthyány von Németújvár (

Kittsee Kittsee (; , , ) is an Austrian municipality in the District of Neusiedl am See (district), Neusiedl am See, Burgenland. History In the Middle Ages, the settlement was situated in the Kingdom of Hungary, and was probably settled by Pecheneg ...

(Köpcsény), 21 April 1910 –

-Castagnola, 16 July 1985), third son of László, 7th Prince of Batthyany-Strattmann. During the final 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 ...

, on 24 March 1945, she hosted a party for SS

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

leaders Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the c ...

Nazi Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

, and local collaborators at the Thyssens' castle at

during which 200

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

were

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...

.Whether Margit herself personally killed anyone at the party is disputed. They had: ** Johann (Iván) Ladislaus Heinrich Maria Graf Batthyány-Strattmann de Német-Ujvar (

, 16 May 1934 –

Pressbaum Pressbaum is a town in the district of St. Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. In 1881, Johannes Brahms completed his Second Piano Concerto while in the town. It belonged to Wien-Umgebung District Bezirk Wien-Umgebung was a D ...

, 26 August 1967), unmarried and without issue. ** Robert ''Christof'' Heinrich Maria Graf Batthyány-Strattmann de Német-Ujvar (

, 12 July 1935 –), married at

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, 18 August 1966 Christine Riechert (

Nordhausen Nordhausen may refer to: *Nordhausen (district), a district in Thuringia, Germany ** Nordhausen, Thuringia, a city in the district ** Nordhausen station, the railway station in the city *Nordhouse, a commune in Alsace (German: Nordhausen) * Narost, ...

, 6 February 1938 –), daughter of Hans Joachim Riechert and wife Elfriede Brodthage, and had: *** Tatiana Christina Maria Gräfin Batthyány-Strattmann de Német-Ujvar (

, 26 June 1968 –), married civilly at Lütjenburg,

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, 28 May 1993 and religiously at

Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...

, 26 June 1993 Konrad Graf von Waldersee (b. Waterneverstorf, 27 March 1957), sixth grandson in male line of

Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau Leopold III Frederick Franz, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau (10 August 1740 – 9 August 1817), known as "Prince Franz" or "Father Franz", was a German prince of the House of Ascania. From 1751 until 1807 he was reigning prince of the Principality of Anha ...

, and had: **** Henry Graf von Waldersee **** Laura Gräfin von Waldersee (29 January 1998 –) **** László Graf von Waldersee (

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 ...

, 16 February 2000 –) *** Iván Christof Graf Batthyány-Strattmann de Német-Ujvar (

, 2 March 1979 –) * ''Gabriella'' Vilma Hedvig Mária Freiin Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (

(Rohonc), 20 December 1915 –), married in

, 1 September 1938 Adolf Willem Carel Baron Bentinck ( Ede, 3 September 1905 –

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 ...

, 7 March 1970), and had: ** Henriette Louise Maria Baronesse Bentinck (

, 30 January 1949 – 29 November 2010), married firstly at

, 13 June 1967 and divorced in 1973 Spencer Douglas David Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton (2 April 1946 –) and had issue, married secondly and divorced Richard Thompson, and married thirdly in

, 1 July 1978 Serge Boissevain (

Neuilly Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the Bois de Boulogne, the area is composed of ...

, 10 July 1947 – 3 January 2011) ** Carel Johannes Baron Bentinck (1957 –), married firstly and divorced in 1996 Nora Picciotto, without issue, and married secondly and divorced Lisa Hogan, and had issue. * Hans Henrik (''Hans Heinrich'' "Heini") Ágost Gábor Tasso Freiherr Thyssen-Bornemisza de Kászon et Impérfalva (1921–2002), who continued his collection before he sold it in 1993 to the

Spanish government The government of Spain () is the central government which leads the executive branch and the General State Administration of the Kingdom of Spain. The Government consists of the Prime Minister and the Ministers; the prime minister has the o ...

for $350 million.

Notes

References

* Partially translated from the German Wikipedia from February 5, 2006 * 1 See Independent Article: „The killer countess: The dark past of Baron Heinrich Thyssen's daughter“ of 07.10.200

External links

Official biography by ThyssenKrupp

* ttp://worldroots.com/~brigitte/famous/e/eleonoreaustriaanc1994.htm Ancestors of Archduchess Eleonore of Austria
Ancestors of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thyssen 1875 births 1947 deaths Hungarian barons People from Mülheim People from the Rhine Province Heinrich German art collectors 20th-century German art collectors Hungarian art collectors Alumni of the University of London Adult adoptees People from Lugano

Biography

Children

Notes

See also

References

External links