Emil Schrodter
Emil Schrodter (1855-1928)
1928 Obituary [1]
Dr. EMIL SCHRODTER died on October 31, 1928, in his seventy-fourth year.
Born in Dusseldorf on February 26, 1855, he received his earlier education at the Realschule in that town, after which he went through courses of study at the Karlsruhe Polytechnicum and the Berlin Commercial Academy (Gewerbeakademie). He then performed his military service as a one-year volunteer in the Thirty-ninth Regiment of Fusiliers at Dusseldorf. His first post as a young engineer was with the engineering firm of Ernst Schiess of Dusseldorf-Oberbilk; thence he went to the Huldschinsky Works in Upper Silesia, where he first became connected with the iron and steel industry.
In 1880 his activities were arrested by a severe attack of articular rheumatism, from the effects of which he suffered for a long time. On November 1, 1881, he joined the staff of the Verein deutscher Eisenhuttenleute; it was in this sphere of activity that he found his life's work.
In 1885 he took over the direction of the Verein. from F. Osann, together with the editorship of the Verein's journal, Stahl and Eisen; from a monthly publication he worked it up first into a fortnightly and finally into a weekly periodical, and advanced it to the front rank of the most important technical papers. A glance through its pages will show that he was a prolific contributor, without counting his innumerable unsigned articles. The growth and development of the Verein may well be attributed entirely to Dr. Schrodter. At the celebrations of his seventieth birthday Dr. Vogler said: "The Verein deutscher Eisenhuttenleute is the work of Emil Schrodter! That must not be forgotten. He created the Verein; he laid the foundation stone on which later generations could build and have built." Dr. Schrodter retired from the position of director of the Verein at the end of 1916.
His labours, however, were not limited to the control of the Verein and its journal. He was contemporaneous with the great growth of the German iron and steel industry, and he played a great part in the formation of syndicates and combines which strengthened the internal fabric of the industry and enabled it to compete successfully in the world's markets; among these was the Verein deutscher Maschinen-bau-Anstalten, formed in 1891, and Dr. Schrodter took over the simultaneous direction of this body, for he was of opinion that the steel and machine industries " should advance hand in hand."
From its inception in 1901 until 1918 he was also in charge of the Testing Department of the Verein deutscher Eisenportlandzement-Werke, for he foresaw that the manufacture of cement from blast- furnace slag would be of great importance to the blast-furnace works of his country. Dr. Schrodter was intimately connected with the Dusseldorf Exhibition held in 1902; it was through his agency that the Iron and Steel Institute was able to hold its Autumn Meeting of that year amidst such pleasant and interesting surroundings. He undertook the office of Local Hon. Secretary of the meeting, and its success was due in great measure to his skilful organisation and untiring activities on behalf of the members.
Dr. Schrodter was the recipient of many honours. In 1903 the Aachen Technical Institution conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering, and in 1906 the Verein deutscher Eisenhottenleute presented him with the Carl Lueg Medal. He was elected an Honorary Member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers in 1909, of the Verein deutscher Maschinenbau-Anstalten in 1911, of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1912, and of the Verein deutscher Eisenhuttenleute in 1917. Orders were also conferred upon him by the German Government. Dr. Schrodter always took a very keen interest in the affairs of foreign societies, and his regard was particularly marked for the Iron and Steel Institute; it is largely due to him that such cordial relations exist between this Institute and the Verein deutscher Eisenhuttenleute, which are still fostered by the present Secretary of the Verein, Dr. Petersen.