Edmund Stinnes

Edmund Stinnes
Stinnes, c. 1925
Born	Edmund Hugo Stinnes (1896-03-23)23 March 1896 Mülheim, German Empire
Died	11 August 1980(1980-08-11) (aged 84) Ascona, Switzerland
Nationality	American German
Alma mater	Technische Universität Berlin (PhD)
Occupation	Industrialist
Spouses	Emilie Margarethe Hartmann ​ ​ (m. 1923; div. 1926)​ Margiana von Schulze-Gaevernitz ​ ​ (m. 1930)​
Father	Hugo Stinnes
Relatives	Gerhart von Schulze-Gaevernitz (father-in-law) Gero von Schulze-Gaevernitz (brother-in-law) Mathias Stinnes (great-grandfather)

Edmund Hugo Stinnes (23 March 1896 – 11 August 1980) was a German-born American industrialist, professor and heir who was primarily based in the United States. He was the oldest son of Hugo Stinnes.

Early life and education

Stinnes was born 23 March 1896 in Mülheim, German Empire, the eldest of seven children, born to Hugo Stinnes and Clara Stinnes (née Wagenknecht). Stinnes was raised in his city of birth where his father had a variety of business interests mainly in the coal and mining industry. He attended Staatliches Gymnasium and then studied mechanical engineering at the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin), where he completed his PhD in 1922.

Emigration and career

In the mid-1930s, Stinnes and his newly wed wife, permanently relocate to the United States, where he began teaching at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania. He completely broke with the Nazism and later became a U.S. citizen. Through financial help he helped several Jewish refugees to immigrate to the United States.

In 1945, Stinnes provided his house on Lago Maggiore as a conference point for Allen Dulles and the Office of Strategic Services in ceasefire negotiations. The negotiations on the American side were led by his brother-in-law Gero von Schulze-Gaevernitz.

Personal life

Stinnes was briefly married to Emilie Margarethe Hartmann, with whom he had two children. In 1930, he wed Margiana "Marga" von Schulze-Gaevernitz, who was a daughter of former member of the Reichstag, Gerhart von Schulze-Gaevernitz. They had two daughters together, one of whom was Veronica Margiana Stinnes (1933–2021). Stinnes was a naturalized U.S. citizen.