Gustav Wilhelm Wolff
Encyclopedia
Gustav Wilhelm Wolff was a British shipbuilder
and politician
. Born in Hamburg
, he moved to Liverpool
in 1849 to live with his uncle, Gustav Christian Schwabe
. After serving his apprenticeship
in Manchester
, Wolff was employed as a draughtsman
in Hyde, Greater Manchester
, before being employed by the shipbuilder Edward Harland
in Belfast
as his personal assistant. In 1861, Wolff became a partner at Harland's firm, forming Harland and Wolff
. Outside shipbuilding, Wolff served as a Belfast Harbour Commissioner. He also founded the Belfast Ropeworks served as Member of Parliament
for Belfast East
for 18 years and as a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party
and Irish and Ulster Unionist Party.
to Moritz Wolff, a merchant and his wife, Fanny Schwabe. Gustav was brought up in the Lutheran Church
as his family had converted from Judaism
in 1819. In 1849, aged 15, Wolff left Hamburg to live in Liverpool with his uncle, Gustav Christian Schwabe
, a financier
. Wolff was educated at Liverpool College; afterwards he served an apprenticeship at the engineers
Joseph Whitworth and Company
, in Manchester. The firm considered Wolff so able, that he was chosen to represent the company at the 1855 Paris Exhibition
. After serving his apprenticeship, Wolff was employed by the B. Goodfellow Ltd., a firm based in Hyde, Greater Manchester
as a draughtsman
. In 1857, due to the intervention of his uncle Gustav Christian Schwabe
, Wolff was employed as Edward Harland
's personal assistant at Robert Hickson's shipyard at Queen's Island, Belfast
. In 1860, Edward Harland
recruited Wolff as his business partner, and Harland and Wolff
was formed.
status in 1888, Wolff was appointed as a director. Wolff was able to secure a good relationship with the Hamburg America Line
, which was managed by Albert Ballin
, a fellow Jew. Wolff officially retired from Harland and Wolff in 1906, although he had not been an active in the business for years beforehand. William James Pirrie who became a partner in 1874 was now the most active. Wolff claimed of the business relationship at Harland and Wolff:
, a Scottish author. With Wolff as chairman, the firm became one of the largest ropeworks in the world, challenging the Gourock Ropework Company, who were based on the River Clyde
in Scotland. Wolff also bought shares in the Union Steamship Company, and became a director; with his influence, he ensured Harland and Wolff received regular orders from the Union Steamship Company. After Wolff's negotiation, the Union Steamship Company merged in 1900 with the Castle Line, which was owned by Donald Currie
; the new company formed was the Union-Castle Line
. Outside of business, Gustav Wolff served as a Belfast harbour commissioner from 1887 to 1893. Wolff, like Edward Harland
, served as a Member of Parliament
as a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party
. Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff were known in the House of Commons as "Majestic
" and "Teutonic
", the names of two ships that the company built. Wolff was the Member of Parliament for Belfast East
from March 1892 to December 1910. He replaced Edward de Cobain
who had been expelled from the House of Commons and was later jailed for homosexual offences. Wolff only faced election once; in the 1892 by-election Sir William Charley, Q.C., stood against Wolff as an Independent Conservative. Wolff defeated Charley by a margin of over 2100 votes. Wolff was then returned unopposed until his retirement from parliament in 1910. Afterwards, Wolff was made a freeman
of Belfast
by the Belfast Corporation. In Parliament, Wolff strongly opposed the Irish Home Rule bills. Despite Wolff's Jewish heritage, he was a member of the Church of Ireland
. He also gave money to local causes, including the Ulster Hospital
and the Orange Order. Wolff was a member of many different clubs, including the Carlton Club
and the Garrick Club
. After his retirement from parliament Wolff lived almost exclusively in London, where he died on 17 April 1913 at his home, 42 Park Street. Wolff did not marry and died a bachelor.
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
and politician
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. Born in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, he moved to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in 1849 to live with his uncle, Gustav Christian Schwabe
Gustav Christian Schwabe
Gustav Christian Schwabe was a German-born merchant and financier who funded companies such as John Bibby & Sons, Harland and Wolff and the White Star Line. Born in Hamburg, Germany, Schwabe moved to Liverpool in 1838 and spent his working life there...
. After serving his apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Wolff was employed as a draughtsman
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2001 census, the town had a population of 31,253. Historically part of Cheshire, it is northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester....
, before being employed by the shipbuilder Edward Harland
Edward Harland
Sir Edward James Harland, 1st Baronet was a British shipbuilder and politician. Born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy. In 1846, aged 15, he took an apprenticeship at the engineering works of Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle upon Tyne...
in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
as his personal assistant. In 1861, Wolff became a partner at Harland's firm, forming Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
. Outside shipbuilding, Wolff served as a Belfast Harbour Commissioner. He also founded the Belfast Ropeworks served as Member of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
for Belfast East
Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast East is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Naomi Long of the Alliance Party, elected in 2010...
for 18 years and as a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and Irish and Ulster Unionist Party.
Early life
Gustav Wilhelm Wolff was born on 14 November 1834 in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to Moritz Wolff, a merchant and his wife, Fanny Schwabe. Gustav was brought up in the Lutheran Church
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
as his family had converted from Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
in 1819. In 1849, aged 15, Wolff left Hamburg to live in Liverpool with his uncle, Gustav Christian Schwabe
Gustav Christian Schwabe
Gustav Christian Schwabe was a German-born merchant and financier who funded companies such as John Bibby & Sons, Harland and Wolff and the White Star Line. Born in Hamburg, Germany, Schwabe moved to Liverpool in 1838 and spent his working life there...
, a financier
Financier
Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
. Wolff was educated at Liverpool College; afterwards he served an apprenticeship at the engineers
Joseph Whitworth and Company
Joseph Whitworth
Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads...
, in Manchester. The firm considered Wolff so able, that he was chosen to represent the company at the 1855 Paris Exhibition
Exposition Universelle (1855)
The Exposition Universelle of 1855 was an International Exhibition held on the Champs-Elysées in Paris from May 15 to November 15, 1855. Its full official title was the Exposition Universelle des produits de l'Agriculture, de l'Industrie et des Beaux-Arts de Paris 1855.The exposition was a major...
. After serving his apprenticeship, Wolff was employed by the B. Goodfellow Ltd., a firm based in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2001 census, the town had a population of 31,253. Historically part of Cheshire, it is northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester....
as a draughtsman
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
. In 1857, due to the intervention of his uncle Gustav Christian Schwabe
Gustav Christian Schwabe
Gustav Christian Schwabe was a German-born merchant and financier who funded companies such as John Bibby & Sons, Harland and Wolff and the White Star Line. Born in Hamburg, Germany, Schwabe moved to Liverpool in 1838 and spent his working life there...
, Wolff was employed as Edward Harland
Edward Harland
Sir Edward James Harland, 1st Baronet was a British shipbuilder and politician. Born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy. In 1846, aged 15, he took an apprenticeship at the engineering works of Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle upon Tyne...
's personal assistant at Robert Hickson's shipyard at Queen's Island, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. In 1860, Edward Harland
Edward Harland
Sir Edward James Harland, 1st Baronet was a British shipbuilder and politician. Born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy. In 1846, aged 15, he took an apprenticeship at the engineering works of Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle upon Tyne...
recruited Wolff as his business partner, and Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
was formed.
Career at Harland and Wolff
Wolff's early role at Harland and Wolff involved his engineering and managing the yard. Due to Wolff's German Jewish descent, he had links with the Jewish community in Hamburg and in Britain, and was able to attract business to the shipyard. Wolff worked extensively at the yard, and was partly responsible for building of the engine works at Harland and Wolff in 1880. More notably, his company was the first to begin construction of the RMS Titanic. After the conversion of Harland and Wolff to limited companyLimited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
status in 1888, Wolff was appointed as a director. Wolff was able to secure a good relationship with the Hamburg America Line
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...
, which was managed by Albert Ballin
Albert Ballin
Albert Ballin was a German businessman. He was born into a modest Jewish family of Hamburg with origins in Denmark.- Business :...
, a fellow Jew. Wolff officially retired from Harland and Wolff in 1906, although he had not been an active in the business for years beforehand. William James Pirrie who became a partner in 1874 was now the most active. Wolff claimed of the business relationship at Harland and Wolff:
Outside interests and later life
Wolff had business interests outside of Harland and Wolff, including the Belfast Ropeworks, which he founded in the early 1870s with W.H. Smiles, who was the son of Samuel SmilesSamuel Smiles
-Early life:Born in Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, the son of Samuel Smiles of Haddington and Janet Wilson of Dalkeith, Smiles was one of eleven surviving children. The family were strict Cameronians, though when Smiles grew up he was not one of them...
, a Scottish author. With Wolff as chairman, the firm became one of the largest ropeworks in the world, challenging the Gourock Ropework Company, who were based on the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in Scotland. Wolff also bought shares in the Union Steamship Company, and became a director; with his influence, he ensured Harland and Wolff received regular orders from the Union Steamship Company. After Wolff's negotiation, the Union Steamship Company merged in 1900 with the Castle Line, which was owned by Donald Currie
Donald Currie
Sir Donald Currie GCMG was a British shipowner.Currie was born in Greenock, Scotland. However, he spent his school days in Belfast at the Belfast Academy and later at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and at a very early age he was employed in the office of a shipowner in that port...
; the new company formed was the Union-Castle Line
Union-Castle Line
The Union-Castle Line was a prominent British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line...
. Outside of business, Gustav Wolff served as a Belfast harbour commissioner from 1887 to 1893. Wolff, like Edward Harland
Edward Harland
Sir Edward James Harland, 1st Baronet was a British shipbuilder and politician. Born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy. In 1846, aged 15, he took an apprenticeship at the engineering works of Robert Stephenson and Company in Newcastle upon Tyne...
, served as a Member of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
as a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff were known in the House of Commons as "Majestic
SS Majestic (1890)
The SS Majestic was a steamship built in 1890 for and operated by the White Star Line.-History:A product of shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, the Majestic was launched on 29 June 1889. The ship spent the next nine months being fitted out for delivery to White Star in March, 1890...
" and "Teutonic
SS Teutonic (1889)
The SS Teutonic was a steamship built for the White Star Line in Belfast and was the first armed merchant cruiser.-Background:In the late 1880s competition for the Blue Riband, the award for the fastest Atlantic crossing, was fierce amongst the top steamship lines, and White Star decided to order...
", the names of two ships that the company built. Wolff was the Member of Parliament for Belfast East
Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast East is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Naomi Long of the Alliance Party, elected in 2010...
from March 1892 to December 1910. He replaced Edward de Cobain
Edward de Cobain
Edward Samuel Wesley de Cobain was an Irish Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892 when he was expelled for failing to appear to answer charges. He was later imprisoned for homosexuality....
who had been expelled from the House of Commons and was later jailed for homosexual offences. Wolff only faced election once; in the 1892 by-election Sir William Charley, Q.C., stood against Wolff as an Independent Conservative. Wolff defeated Charley by a margin of over 2100 votes. Wolff was then returned unopposed until his retirement from parliament in 1910. Afterwards, Wolff was made a freeman
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
by the Belfast Corporation. In Parliament, Wolff strongly opposed the Irish Home Rule bills. Despite Wolff's Jewish heritage, he was a member of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
. He also gave money to local causes, including the Ulster Hospital
Ulster Hospital
The Ulster Hospital is a hospital in Dundonald in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Ballyregan, beside the A20 road....
and the Orange Order. Wolff was a member of many different clubs, including the Carlton Club
Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a gentlemen's club in London which describes itself as the "oldest, most elite, and most important of all Conservative clubs." Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.-History:...
and the Garrick Club
Garrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:The Garrick Club was founded at a meeting in the Committee Room at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on Wednesday 17 August 1831...
. After his retirement from parliament Wolff lived almost exclusively in London, where he died on 17 April 1913 at his home, 42 Park Street. Wolff did not marry and died a bachelor.