Suermondt, Barthold |
| ENTREPRENEUR, BANKER, ART COLLECTOR, PATRON OF THE ARTS (NETHERLANDS) |
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BORN 18 May 1818, Utrecht - DIED 1 Mar 1887, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen GRAVE LOCATION Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen: Westfriedhof, Vaalser Straße 334 |
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Barthold Suermondt was the son of the director of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt Royal Dutch Mint), Ijman Dirk Christiaan Suermondt (1792-1871). His mother Elizabeth Twist (1796-1873) was English. He studied at the Bauakademie in Berlin. In 1836 he became private secretary to John Cockerill in Seraing near Liège. His father was a shareholder in Cockerill's company. In 1837 John Cockerill's brother James Cockerill suddenly died and Suermondt became responsible for the administration of his estate. In 1838 he married James' daughter Amalie Elisabeth Cockerill. They had six children and Karl Ferdiand sohn painted her portrait. Also in 1838 he was one of the founders of the Metallurgical Society of Stolberg. John Cockerill had no children and after his death in 1840 Suermondt and his brothers were his heirs. He was only 22 yeard old at the time, but together with acting director Konrad Gustav Pastor he restructured the company. He was a member of the management board from 1842 to 1846 and of the supervisory board from 1848 to 1882. From 1882 until 1887 he returned to the management board. He was also involved in mining in Rescheid and active in banking. He was the first major donor of the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen. After Amalie's death in 1859 he married Nancy Haniel (1843-1896), the daughter of the mining entrepeneur Max Hamiel. They had two children. After his return from a trip to Russia he died of exhaustion in 1887 in Aachen. |
| Images | |
 The grave of Barthold Suermondt at the Westfriedhof in Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen. Picture by Androom (30 Jun 2024) |
 Statue at the grave of Barthold Suermondt at the Westfriedhof in Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen. Picture by Androom (30 Jun 2024) |
Sources • Barthold Suermondt - Wikipedia (DE) |
