Carl Geigy
Encyclopedia
Carl Geigy (also Karl) was a famous Swiss Philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

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Biography

Geigy was son of Carl (1834-1862), Basler Entrepreneur, and Margaretha Emilie Burckhardt (1838-1911). His grandfather was Karl Geigy (1798-1861) President of the Swiss Centralbahngesellschaft.

Carl Geigy grew up in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, and visited the Gymnasium and the vocational school in Basel. He served his apprenticeship as mechanical engineer in Lausanne. He continued his professional training in a weaving factory in Bradford and in a spinning mill in Oldham. Here Carl Geigy became acquainted with the social problems of the working class.

Following a journey around the world he returned to Switzerland in 1887. He was co-founder of the engineering association in Basel. From 1904 onwards he withdrew from his professional career.

Carl Geigy lived in the Bruckgut
Bruckgut (Münchenstein)
The Bruckgut estate lies at the foot of the hill, below the village centre of Münchenstein, in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland.The Bruckgut farming estate is listed as a heritage site of national significance.-Geographical location:...

estate in Münchenstein and built the farm house and barn there in 1888. He married Julia Elisabeth Burckhardt (1872-1949) from Basel in 1897. They had four children, Eduard (1899-1941), Julie (1900-1966), Jenny (1903-1990) and Karl Felix (1904-1977).

Following his withdrawal from his occupation, he devoted his time to the social humanitarian and religious tasks. He dedicated himself to the building of the children's hospital in Basel. Carl Geigy became famous as philanthropist and was a father figure in Münchenstein, where he was awarded the honorary citizenship in 1937.

Literature

personal data in: Zur Erinnerung an Carl Geigy-Burckhardt, printed brochure 1943, pages 5 to 11. - Nekrolog in: BN 5.1.1943
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