Otto Boettger (1842-1907): Difference between revisions

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 Created by [[Benjamin Hollister]] and made available under [[wikipedia:Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License|Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0]].
 === In Germany and Russia ===
-Böttger was born on the first of Septemeber, 1842, in Elbrefeld, near the city of Dusseldorf, in the Rhine Province of Prussia, the son of Wilhelm and Julia (née Schmidt) Böttger. At the time Elberfeld was predominantly Protestant with 11 Lutheran and Reformed churches. It is likely that Otto attended a church school until the age of 10, when he transferred to a technical high school, followed by his apprenticeship as an instrumentmaker at the age of 14. In the early and mid 19th century, Elberfeld and the nearby Barmen were the most industrialised towns in any of the German states, with Elberfeld referred to as the "German Manchester", and also suffered from the associated issues of poverty and pauperism.<ref>https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elberfeld</ref> The civic response was the beginning of the industrial welfare state in Greater Germany.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Willis |first=James |date=2016 |title=The Elberfeld System: Poor Relief and The Fluidity Of German Identity In Mid-Nineteenth Century Germany |url=https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/1159/ |type=MA (History) |chapter= |publisher=Boise State University |docket= |oclc= |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref>
+Böttger was born on the first of September, 1842, in Elbrefeld, near the city of Dusseldorf, in the Rhine Province of Prussia, the son of Wilhelm and Julia (née Schmidt) Böttger. At the time Elberfeld was predominantly Protestant with 11 Lutheran and Reformed churches. It is likely that Otto attended a church school until the age of 10, when he transferred to a technical high school, followed by his apprenticeship as an instrumentmaker at the age of 14. In the early and mid 19th century, Elberfeld and the nearby Barmen were the most industrialised towns in any of the German states, with Elberfeld referred to as the "German Manchester", and also suffered from the associated issues of poverty and pauperism.<ref>https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elberfeld</ref> The civic response was the beginning of the industrial welfare state in Greater Germany.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Willis |first=James |date=2016 |title=The Elberfeld System: Poor Relief and The Fluidity Of German Identity In Mid-Nineteenth Century Germany |url=https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/td/1159/ |type=MA (History) |chapter= |publisher=Boise State University |docket= |oclc= |access-date=28 September 2023}}</ref>
 Otto appears to have served only a short apprenticeship of 4 years, leaving for Berlin in about 1860, and joining the Prussian Army in 1863, a requirement of all young men at the time. Initially he served with the Corps of Artillery, but transferred to the Corps of Engineers, most likely to make use of his engineering and instrument-making skills. With the engineers responsible for surveying in the military, this is probably where he had his initial exposure to the field of surveying that would stand him in good stead on his arrival in the Australian colonies.
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 Arriving at Port Adelaide in July 1877, the couple soon moved to the heart of the German quarter of the city, living and working in Gawler place. Initially Otto worked for the firm of A. W. Dobbie and Co., providing maintenance and repair work for customers of the foundry, but by January 1878 he was listing himself separately as a mathematical and surgical instrumentmaker in Gawler Place, submitting a patent for a "Mechanical Apparatus for Raising and Cooling Beverages of all kinds through compressed purified and cooled air", and by February of the same year was in business with D. Schmidt as manufacturers of industrial machines.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207642980 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[The Express And Telegraph]]  |volume=XV, |issue=4,192  |location=South Australia |date=14 January 1878 |accessdate=28 September 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40780114 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]]  |volume=XLIII, |issue=9745  |location=South Australia |date=7 February 1878 |accessdate=28 September 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The partnership did not last long, and Böttger was soon advertising his own business, situated in Flinders Street (on the site of the current Department of Education, opposite the old Stow Memorial Manse), a location he operated from until the end of 1881, when he relocated to the premises on Flinders Street he is most widely known for. <ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42976789 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]]  |volume=XLIV, |issue=10,034  |location=South Australia |date=11 January 1879 |accessdate=28 September 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42976789 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]]  |volume=XLIV, |issue=10,034  |location=South Australia |date=11 January 1879 |accessdate=28 September 2023 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
-The move to larger premises was made possible by the contract work obtained from the SA Colonial Government Surveying Department, who in 1880 chose Böttger as the only local creator and supplier of theodolites and other survey instruments, both because of the high quality of work, the ease of accessibility, and the lower prices.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197738934 |title=Latest News. |newspaper=[[Evening Journal]]  |volume=XII, |issue=3435  |location=South Australia |date=17 April 1880 |accessdate=28 September 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> This work set Otto up for the rest of his business life in Australia as his reputation grew, firstly across government in the other Australian colonies, then in the private and higher education sectors, as a supplier of high quality scientific, optical and engineering instruments.
+The move to larger premises was made possible by the contract work obtained from the SA Colonial Government Surveying Department, who in 1880 chose Böttger as the only local creator and supplier of theodolites and other survey instruments, both because of the high quality of work, the ease of accessibility, and the lower prices.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article197738934 |title=Latest News. |newspaper=[[Evening Journal]]  |volume=XII, |issue=3435  |location=South Australia |date=17 April 1880 |accessdate=28 September 2023 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> This work set Otto up for the rest of his business life in Australia as his reputation grew, firstly across government in the other Australian colonies, then in the private and higher education sectors, as a supplier of high quality scientific, optical and engineering instruments. One widely noted instrument was specially built for the Happy Valley Reservoir inlet tunnel in 1896. <ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162318393 |title=THE HAPPY VALLEY WATERWORKS. |newspaper=[[Adelaide Observer]] |volume=LIII, |issue=2,854 |location=South Australia |date=13 June 1896 |accessdate=29 September 2023 |page=41 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
 Böttger maintained connections with other members of the German community on Adelaide and was a member of the committee of the German Club in Pirie Street, along with other city businessmen such as [[Johann Friedrich Martin Armbruster (1826-1897)|Friedrich Armbruster]], Rudolph Büring, and Carl Wittig.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47281503 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[South Australian Register]] |volume=LV, |issue=13,689 |location=South Australia |date=27 September 1890 |accessdate=29 September 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231305935 |title=Die Bismarck-Stiftung. |newspaper=[[Australische Zeitung]] |volume=LI, |issue=46 |location=South Australia |date=15 November 1899 |accessdate=29 September 2023 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231307871 |title=No title |newspaper=[[Australische Zeitung]] |volume=LI, |issue=10 |location=South Australia |date=8 March 1899 |accessdate=29 September 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
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 === Return to Germany and death ===
-On March 4, 1899, Otto and Johanne left South Australia aboard the Barbarossa, bound for Bremen and retirement in Germany. <ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87788336 |title=Shipping News. |newspaper=[[Chronicle]] |volume=41, |issue=2,116 |location=South Australia |date=11 March 1899 |accessdate=29 September 2023 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article166445921 |title=FAIR AND UNFAIR. |newspaper=[[Quiz And The Lantern]] |volume=X, |issue=493 |location=South Australia |date=2 March 1899 |accessdate=29 September 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> he died in 1907 and Johanne continued to live in Köln (Cologne) until her death in 1921.
+On March 4, 1899, Otto and Johanne left South Australia aboard the Barbarossa, bound for Bremen and retirement in Germany. <ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87788336 |title=Shipping News. |newspaper=[[Chronicle]] |volume=41, |issue=2,116 |location=South Australia |date=11 March 1899 |accessdate=29 September 2023 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article166445921 |title=FAIR AND UNFAIR. |newspaper=[[Quiz And The Lantern]] |volume=X, |issue=493 |location=South Australia |date=2 March 1899 |accessdate=29 September 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> He died in 1907 and Johanne continued to live in Köln (Cologne) until her death in 1921.
 === Timeline ===