August Thyssen

August Thyssen (1842–1926) was a prominent German industrialist who established a vast iron and steel empire in the late 19th century. He founded his first rolling mill in 1867 and later formed Thyssen & Co. KG in 1871. By 1914, his company was Germany's largest iron and steel manufacturer and a major coal producer. Thyssen was known for his simple lifestyle and republican views, with a motto of "If I rest, I rust". His son, Fritz Thyssen, inherited the empire and became a significant financial supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, though he later broke with them. The companies founded by August Thyssen eventually merged and evolved into ThyssenKrupp AG, a major European corporation.123