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Born in Hohenheim near Stuttgart, Germany to a Lutheran minister, he received an excellent education. He came to the South African diamond- and goldfields in 1882, and soon acquired a reputation as the resourceful manager of the Phoenix Diamond Mining Company at Du Toit's Pan near Kimberley. He attracted the attention of Julius Wernher and Alfred Beit and in 1884 joined them in the partnership of Jules Porgès & Co (later Wernher, Beit & Co).
In 1885 Beit arranged for Hermann Eckstein and Jim Taylor, to report on the firm's interests in the Barberton and De Kaap goldfields, in which they had invested heavily. Taylor wrote a gloomy report on the extent and quality of the ore lode that brought Porgès hurrying back to South Africa. He and Beit decided to disinvest. The firm suffered a loss, which was trivial compared with what was to follow. The soaring share prices during the boom, were rapidly followed by pessimism, plummeting prices and widespread bankruptcy. Just before the collapse there had been rumours of enormous deposits of gold on the Witwatersrand, about 60 km south of Pretoria. These rumours had reached Porgès and Beit whilst visiting government offices in Pretoria. Initially discounted, they had proved to be true. Beit hurriedly acquired extensive mining rights in Johannesburg.
In 1888 Eckstein started his own firm under the name of Hermann Eckstein & Co., in the Corner House as a representative of Jules Porgès. He was instrumental in establishing the Chamber of Mines in Johannesburg, and acted as its first president until 1892. Eckstein put the infrastructure of the mines on a solid footing by using competent engineers, thus turning mere diggings into established industry. He was involved in the move to deep level mining when the surface deposits had run out. By the end of 1888 he was in charge of virtually all the mining activities in the central area of the Witwatersrand, and controlled the eleven most important syndicates. He played an important role in the founding of the Wanderers Club and is considered one of the Randlords.
Eckstein was dismayed by the growing rift between the Uitlanders and Afrikaners, more so since he counted Paul Kruger as a personal friend. He played a large part in establishing the National Bank of the South African Republic. The year before his death he went to England, having been offered a partnership with Wernher and Beit in the Central Mining and Investment Corporation. He left Johannesburg with his wife who was pregnant with their fourth child, but didn't live long enough to see its birth. On 16 January 1893 he died of "apoplexy of the heart", probably a heart attack. His brother Frederick took over the family interests and in 1910 rebuilt Ottershaw Park in Surrey which at the time was described as the 'Wonder House of Surrey'.
Sachsenwaldedit
Beit's company planted some three million trees on an area of 1,300 acres (5.3 km2), an area Eckstein called Sachsenwald, now known as the Johannesburg suburbs of Saxonwold and Forest Town, the Zoo Lake and Johannesburg Zoo. The forest became a favourite recreational spot for the wealthy Randlords and their families.
Ten years after his death, and in his memory, his former partners made a gift to Johannesburg of the Sachsenwald, later named the Hermann Eckstein Park. This Deed of Gift read: "Whereas the late Hermann Eckstein was in his lifetime a resident in the town of Johannesburg and always took a deep interest in its advancement and prosperity, and played an active part in many schemes and undertakings for its improvement and whereas it has appeared to us that the dedication of a suitable area of land for the use of the public of Johannesburg, as a public park, would have met with the cordial approval of our late friend and will be acceptable to fellow townsmen." The Deed was signed by Julius Wernher, Alfred Beit, Lionel Phillips, Ludwig Breitmeyer, Friedrich Eckstein (his brother), Charles Rube and Ludwig Wagner.
Epilogueedit
"Eckstein's skill in financial transactions and his unimpeachable integrity made him a respected man in a community where dishonesty was rife. He became a leading figure in the Johannesburg mining industry." - South African Dictionary of National Biography.
Eckstein was a founding member of the Rand Club, an exclusive club created for the use of the Randlords, and first president of the Wanderers' Club.
Sourcesedit
Biography of Jules Porgès
December 18, 2023
hermann, eckstein, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclea. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Hermann Ludwig Eckstein 3 August 1847 16 January 1893 was a German born British mining magnate and banker Hermann EcksteinBorn 1847 08 03 August 3 1847DiedJanuary 16 1893 1893 01 16 aged 45 OccupationBankerHermann Eckstein amp wife Minnie c1880The second Corner House Johannesburg c1890 Contents 1 Life history 2 Sachsenwald 3 Epilogue 4 SourcesLife history editBorn in Hohenheim near Stuttgart Germany to a Lutheran minister he received an excellent education He came to the South African diamond and goldfields in 1882 and soon acquired a reputation as the resourceful manager of the Phoenix Diamond Mining Company at Du Toit s Pan near Kimberley He attracted the attention of Julius Wernher and Alfred Beit and in 1884 joined them in the partnership of Jules Porges amp Co later Wernher Beit amp Co In 1885 Beit arranged for Hermann Eckstein and Jim Taylor to report on the firm s interests in the Barberton and De Kaap goldfields in which they had invested heavily Taylor wrote a gloomy report on the extent and quality of the ore lode that brought Porges hurrying back to South Africa He and Beit decided to disinvest The firm suffered a loss which was trivial compared with what was to follow The soaring share prices during the boom were rapidly followed by pessimism plummeting prices and widespread bankruptcy Just before the collapse there had been rumours of enormous deposits of gold on the Witwatersrand about 60 km south of Pretoria These rumours had reached Porges and Beit whilst visiting government offices in Pretoria Initially discounted they had proved to be true Beit hurriedly acquired extensive mining rights in Johannesburg In 1888 Eckstein started his own firm under the name of Hermann Eckstein amp Co in the Corner House as a representative of Jules Porges He was instrumental in establishing the Chamber of Mines in Johannesburg and acted as its first president until 1892 Eckstein put the infrastructure of the mines on a solid footing by using competent engineers thus turning mere diggings into established industry He was involved in the move to deep level mining when the surface deposits had run out By the end of 1888 he was in charge of virtually all the mining activities in the central area of the Witwatersrand and controlled the eleven most important syndicates He played an important role in the founding of the Wanderers Club and is considered one of the Randlords Eckstein was dismayed by the growing rift between the Uitlanders and Afrikaners more so since he counted Paul Kruger as a personal friend He played a large part in establishing the National Bank of the South African Republic The year before his death he went to England having been offered a partnership with Wernher and Beit in the Central Mining and Investment Corporation He left Johannesburg with his wife who was pregnant with their fourth child but didn t live long enough to see its birth On 16 January 1893 he died of apoplexy of the heart probably a heart attack His brother Frederick took over the family interests and in 1910 rebuilt Ottershaw Park in Surrey which at the time was described as the Wonder House of Surrey Sachsenwald editBeit s company planted some three million trees on an area of 1 300 acres 5 3 km2 an area Eckstein called Sachsenwald now known as the Johannesburg suburbs of Saxonwold and Forest Town the Zoo Lake and Johannesburg Zoo The forest became a favourite recreational spot for the wealthy Randlords and their families Ten years after his death and in his memory his former partners made a gift to Johannesburg of the Sachsenwald later named the Hermann Eckstein Park This Deed of Gift read Whereas the late Hermann Eckstein was in his lifetime a resident in the town of Johannesburg and always took a deep interest in its advancement and prosperity and played an active part in many schemes and undertakings for its improvement and whereas it has appeared to us that the dedication of a suitable area of land for the use of the public of Johannesburg as a public park would have met with the cordial approval of our late friend and will be acceptable to fellow townsmen The Deed was signed by Julius Wernher Alfred Beit Lionel Phillips Ludwig Breitmeyer Friedrich Eckstein his brother Charles Rube and Ludwig Wagner Epilogue edit Eckstein s skill in financial transactions and his unimpeachable integrity made him a respected man in a community where dishonesty was rife He became a leading figure in the Johannesburg mining industry South African Dictionary of National Biography Eckstein was a founding member of the Rand Club an exclusive club created for the use of the Randlords and first president of the Wanderers Club Sources editArticle on Hermann Eckstein Chamber of Mines article Biography of Jules Porges Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hermann Eckstein amp oldid 1175183145, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
