On September 5, 2022, Carl Friedrich von Siemens would have turned 150. To pay proper tribute to this important entrepreneur, who played a major role in the history of Siemens, the Siemens Historical Institute has commissioned a comprehensive biography that will be published in 2023. To mark the occasion of his birth, we’d like to give you a preview here of the life of Carl Friedrich, the so-called Head of the House of Siemens, who shaped the company’s development with his far-sighted corporate policies under the difficult political and economic conditions.

From August 26 to September 11, 1972, the “Games of the XX Olympiad” took place in Munich. These Summer Olympics included 121 teams with a total of 7,134 athletes – more participants than ever before. The best of them set 52 world records and 96 Olympic records. Figuratively speaking, Siemens’ contribution to preparing and conducting this sporting event was also a record-breaking performance, because the Siemens technology that was employed made headlines around the world.

As a result of the dynamic economic development within Germany as well as abroad, Siemens & Halske (S&H) was faced with competition in the rapidly growing energy technology market, starting in the 1880s. The competitors demonstrated innovative market strategies, financed through the capital market. As a result, S&H faced increasing pressure. Company founder Werner von Siemens had held firmly to his guiding principles for his family-owned enterprise right up to the end of his life. In order to remain competitive, his successors converted the company to a stock corporation in 1897.