Entrepreneur, Industrial Pioneer and Promoter
Carl Duisberg
Carl Duisberg was born in September 1861 in the then industrially influenced Barmen (now a district of Wuppertal) in comparatively simple circumstances. Early on, he showed an interest in scientific questions, particularly in chemistry, which fascinated him during his school years. He studied chemistry at the universities of Göttingen and Jena and subsequently earned his doctorate. In 1883, he joined the dye factory Friedrich Bayer & Co. in Elberfeld, a company that was still in its early stages at the time.
Duisberg quickly advanced his career there: in 1888, he became an authorized officer and took over the management of scientific experiments. With his strategic foresight and technical innovative spirit, he significantly contributed to Bayer’s rise to one of the leading companies in the German chemical industry. One of his decisive measures was relocating the company’s headquarters to Leverkusen in 1895 – a step that significantly drove industrial expansion.
In 1900, Duisberg was appointed to Bayer’s board of directors, and from 1912 he led the company as General Director. During his time at the helm, he advocated, among other things, for improving the living and working conditions of employees in the Bayer plants – a remarkable step for the time, even though social measures always also served the goal of securing labor and loyalty in the long term.
Duisberg was a staunch advocate of research, innovation, and international exchange. In the 1920s, he was particularly committed to promoting practical experiences abroad for young German professionals. He enabled working students – especially engineers – to stay in the USA to gain professional experience in international companies. This idea of practice-oriented internationalization still characterizes the Carl Duisberg Society today.
At the same time, Carl Duisberg was a controversial figure: He played a central role in the founding of I.G. Farbenindustrie AG in 1925, a large corporation whose later entanglement in the Nazi era and war economy must be critically examined historically. Duisberg took over the chairmanship of the supervisory board of I.G. Farben and gradually withdrew from operational business a year later. However, he remained president of the Reich Association of German Industry until 1931, making him an influential player among the German economic elites of his time.
Carl Duisberg died in March 1935 in Leverkusen. His technical foresight, commitment to international education, and contribution to the development of the German chemical industry remain undisputed – even though his work must be viewed in a differentiated manner from today’s perspective. In 1949, former working students, whose stays abroad he had supported in the 1920s, founded the Carl Duisberg Society – as an expression of the enduring idea that international experience and education are central pillars of economic and social development.