Carl Duisberg

Friedrich Carl Duisberg (29 September 1861 – 19 March 1935) was a German chemist and industrialist.

Life

Born in Barmen, Germany, from 1879 to 1882, he studied at the Georg August University of Göttingen and Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, receiving his doctorate. After military service in Munich, which he combined with research in the laboratory of Adolf von Baeyer, he was hired in 1883 at the Farbenwerke (dye company) of Friedr. Bayer & Co., which later became Bayer AG.

In his career, he became confidential clerk (authorised signatory) and head of research. In 1900, he became the CEO of Bayer. Inspired by Standard Oil on a US tour, Bayer became part of IG Farben, a conglomerate of German chemical industries. Duisberg was head of the supervisory board for IG Farben. He died in Leverkusen.

Work

During World War I, the German army faced a great threat from an ammunition shortage. Indeed, the nitrates that were crucial for the production of gunpowder could not be imported any more because of the blockade by the British Navy. As a result, the German chemical firms (BASF and Bayer among others) were pushed to successfully synthesise nitrates. However, because of the war, shortage in manpower arose, and Druisberg advised Max Bauer on a new solution. In November 1916, Druisberg advised the Kaiser's troops to begin deporting 60 000 people from occupied Belgium; they were put in trains for transport to German mines and factories. Complaints from influential neutral countries, especially the United States, put an end to it. Also, in 1916, General Wilhelm Groener was appointed by General Ludendorff to reduce inflation. He proposed that increases in costs could be absorbed by the chemical community. When Duisberg heard the proposition, he successfully influenced the German government for Groener's removal.