Birth of Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, a German telecommunications industrialist of the Siemens family. Known as Wilhelm von Siemens, he was a general partner of the family company Siemens. He is credited with championing the Berlin to Iraq railway system that was to be completed about 1915. The direct competition such a railway system posed to British imperial domination could have been one of the causes of WW I. Beginning in 1899, he founded Siemensstadt, a locality of Berlin, in order to expand production by building new factories and worker’s accommodation.
July 30, 1967
Death of the industrialist Alfred Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach in Essen, Germany. In 1943 he became the sole owner of the Krupp works (steel). He worked closely with the Nazi government during WWII and exploited the situation for his own profit. He was tried for war crimes in Nürnberg. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison and had to forfeit all property. With the cold war, however, and the perceived need for his skills, he was granted amnesty by the U. S. authorities and all of his holdings were restored. By the 1960s he had a fortune of over a billion dollars.
July 30, 1976
Death of the theologian, Rudolf Bultmann in Marburg, Germany. Bultmann was a New Testament scholar who sought to demythologize the New Testament. He was a professor at the University of Marburg. From 1922-1928 the philosopher, Martin Heidegger, was also at Marburg and had considerable influence on Bultmann’s thought.
July 30, 1977
Terrorists murder the head of the Dresdener Bank, Jürgen Ponto. He was a German banker and chairman of the Dresdner Bank board of directors. Previously, he had worked as a lawyer. He was assassinated by members of the Red Army Faction in events leading up to the German Autumn.
July 30, 2001
Death of Anton Schwarzkopf, a German engineer of amusement rides, and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries Company, which built numerous amusement rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and traveling funfairs. In 1957, Anton Schwarzkopf built his first attraction, the Düsenspirale, a roller coaster that traveled around Germany with funfair showman Löffelhardt. Although Schwarzkopf is most famous for roller coasters, the company also produced a number of popular flat rides, including the Bayern Kurve, the Enterprise, and the Monster. As of 2018, Schwarzkopf has built 149 roller coasters around the world.
