Alfred Krupp

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Alfred Krupp, portrait by Julius Grün, c. 1880

Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin

Alfred Kruppwas a German industrialist noted for his development and worldwide sale of cast-steel cannon and other armaments. Under his direction, the Krupp Works began the manufacture of ordnance (c. 1847).

His father, Friedrich Krupp, who had founded the dynasty’s firm in 1811, died in 1826, leaving to his son the secret of making high-quality cast steel, together with a small workshop in which production had come almost to a standstill. Taking full charge of the firm at the age of 14, Alfred soon extended production to include the manufacture of steel rolls. He designed and developed new machines, invented the spoon roll for making spoons and forks, and manufactured rolling mills for use in government mints. He won new customers, extended his firm’s purchases of raw materials, and secured funds to finance the expansion of his works. At the first world exhibition, the Great Exhibition, in London in 1851, he exhibited the largest steel ingot ever cast up to that time (4,300 pounds).

It was with the advent of railways that the rise of the firm really began. At first, railway axles and springs of cast steel were the only products made in this field, but in 1852 Alfred Krupp manufactured the first seamless steel railway tire. Later he adopted three superimposed railway tires, the “three rings,” as the trademark of the firm. He was also the first to introduce the Bessemer and open-hearth steelmaking processes to Europe (1862 and 1869).

To prove the quality of his steel, Alfred Krupp turned to making cannons. Initially he could not sell his guns in Prussia, and the first orders came from Egypt (1856), Belgium (1861), and Russia (1863). As a result, however, of the performance of Krupp guns in the Franco-German War of 1870–71, the firm came to be called “the Arsenal of the Reich.” Alfred Krupp was in many ways the founder of modern warfare. At the time of his death he had armed 46 nations.

Recognizing early the human problems of industrialization, Alfred Krupp created a comprehensive welfare scheme for his workers. As early as 1836 he instituted a sickness and burial fund, and in 1855 he established a pension fund for retired and incapacitated workers. In 1861 he began to build housing settlements, hospitals, schools, and churches for his employees. His workers became fanatically loyal to him. He had started his steel plant with seven workers; at his death the enterprise was employing 21,000 persons.