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Henri DeterdingDutch industrialist
Date of Birth: 19.04.1866
Country:  Switzerland |
Content:
Biography of Henry Deterding
Henry Wilhelm August Deterding was born on April 19, 1866, in Amsterdam. He was the son of Philip Jacob Deterding, a captain in the merchant fleet, and his wife Catharina Adolphina Geertruida Kayser. After his father's ship left Amsterdam in 1869 and later perished with the entire crew, Henry had limited contact with his father. Despite this, his mother managed to provide him with a modest inheritance, which allowed him to receive a decent education. Henry attended primary school and completed three years of secondary school in Amsterdam.
In August 1882, at the age of 16, Henry began working as a junior clerk in a bank. However, he realized that his training was not sufficient for work in Europe, so he decided to join the Dutch Trading Company's branch in Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia. It was during this time that he met Jean Baptiste August Kessler, who offered him a position as sales director at Royal Dutch. Henry accepted the offer and soon took over the company's management after Kessler's death. He transformed Royal Dutch Shell into the world's second-largest oil and gas company, following John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil.
In 1894, Henry married Catharina Louisa Neubronner, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. After her death in 1916, he married Lydia Pawlowna Koudoyaroff in 1924, and they had two daughters. They divorced in 1933, and in 1936, Henry married Charlotte Minna Knaack, with whom he had two more daughters.
Leadership at Royal Dutch Shell
Henry Deterding, nicknamed the "Oil Napoleon," played a crucial role in the development of Royal Dutch Shell. Under his leadership, the company developed a tanker fleet that allowed it to compete with Marcus Samuel's British Shell. Deterding orchestrated several major mergers and acquisitions, including the 1907 merger with Shell and the acquisition of Azerbaijani oil fields from the Rothschild family in 1911.
In the later years of his life, Deterding's behavior towards Germany became controversial, and he was even accused of sympathizing with the Nazi Party. He collaborated with the Dutch government to send large quantities of agricultural products to Germany, claiming it was humanitarian aid. Additionally, he provided significant financial assistance to Germany when the Soviet government nationalized the oil fields in Azerbaijan.
In 1936, Deterding purchased Dobbin Estate near Krakow am See in Germany and spent his final years there. He passed away on February 4, 1939, at the age of 72, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from heart failure while skiing. His remains were later transferred to Liechtenstein in 1968. At his funeral, prominent Nazi figures were present, and Adolf Hitler sent a lavish wreath adorned with swastikas.
Throughout his life, Henry Deterding had a significant impact on the oil and gas industry, leading Royal Dutch Shell to become a global powerhouse. Despite controversy surrounding his political affiliations, his business acumen and leadership abilities remain undeniable.
