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| Industry | Electrical engineering |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Duewag  |
| Founded | 1847; 178 years ago (1847) |
| Founders | Werner von Siemens Johann Georg Halske |
| Defunct | 1966 (1966) |
| Fate | Merged withSiemens |
| Headquarters | Berlin, Germany |
| Parent | Siemens |
Siemens & Halske AG (orSiemens-Halske) was a German electrical engineering company that later became part ofSiemens.
It was founded on 12 October 1847 asTelegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske byWerner von Siemens andJohann Georg Halske. The company, located inBerlin-Kreuzberg, specialised in manufacturingelectrical telegraphs according toCharles Wheatstone's patent of 1837. In 1848, the company constructed one of the first European telegraph lines from Berlin toFrankfurt am Main. Siemens & Halske was not alone in the realm of electrical engineering. In 1887,Emil Rathenau had establishedAllgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), which became a long-time rival.
In 1881, Siemens & Halske built theGross-Lichterfelde Tramway, the world's first electricstreetcar line, in the southwesternLichterfelde suburb of Berlin, followed by theMödling and Hinterbrühl Tram nearVienna, the first electricalinterurban tram inAustria-Hungary. 1882 saw the opening of the experimental "Elektromote" track, an earlytrolleybus concept in the Berlin suburb ofHalensee. The rising popularity of telegraphs and electrical tramways, as well as in generators and electric motors, ensured steady growth for Siemens & Halske.
Werner von Siemens retired in 1890, while Johann Georg Halske had already left the company in 1867. Werner von Siemens' brother Karl Heinrich, together with Werner's sonsArnold andGeorg Wilhelm, grew the firm and erected new Siemens & Halske premises along the banks of the westernSpree river, in the Berlin suburb of Charlottenburg, in 1897. The firm's vast new site continued to grow, and from 1899 onwards it was known asSiemensstadt.
Siemens & Halske quickly expanded with representatives in Great Britain and Russia as well as its own cable-manufacturing plants atWoolwich andSaint Petersburg. The company's rise was supported by Werner von Siemens' patent of theelectric generator (dynamo) in 1867.
Carl Wilhelm Siemens represented the company inGreat Britain. They developed a cable-manufacturing plant inWoolwich.
Carl Heinrich von Siemens represented the company in Russia. He established the Russian branch of the company in 1853, gaining a contract to build the telegraph system.[2] In 1886 they obtained permission to establish theObshchestvo Elektricheskogo Osveshcheniia (Company for Electric Lighting), also known as the1886 Company.[2]
When Siemens & Halske merged parts of its activities withSchuckert & Co.,Nuremberg in 1903 to becomeSiemens-Schuckert, Siemens & Halske AG specialized in communications engineering. DuringWorld War I,rotary engines of advanced and unusual design were produced under the Siemens-Halske brand, like theSiemens-Halske Sh.I andSh.III. Siemens & Halske also produced large numbers ofMG08/15 machineguns deployed for service of theKaiser Imperial forces inWorld War I. Later, Siemens established several company subsidiaries for which the Siemens & Halske AG functioned as a holding company.
During theSecond World War, Siemens & Halske employed slave labour from concentration camps.[3]Among other things, they produced field telephones of the type "Feldfernsprecher 33".
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