Wvs satz final indd

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sister Mathilde Himly went so far as to liken his brother’s home to 

a tavern.

15

 But Werner von Siemens had no hobbies, no interest 

in music, art, literature or religion. In that sense he was a techni-

cian through and through. The only topic that could draw him 

away from current business and questions of science and technol-

ogy was politics. 

Achieving love through reason 

For many years, Werner von Siemens’ life had no room for a wife. 

Before he founded his company, all his time was taken by serving 

as an offi cer, caring for his younger brothers, and hunting for in-

ventions. In September 1845 he informed a Magdeburg widow 

who suggested matching him with a partner that he had “no time 

to fall in love and get married”.

16

 Once he had opened the work-

shop, building telegraph lines absorbed all his attention. Not 

until late in 1851, after he had bought the house on Markgrafen-

straße, did Werner begin to think of starting a family. Five of his 

seven younger brothers had at last been set up on their own, and 

none of them lived any longer in Berlin.

It was amid this situation that he decided to marry 27-year-old 

Mathilde Drumann, a distant relative from Königsberg. She had 

fallen in love with him in the summer of 1845 when she and her 

mother had stopped off in Berlin on their way elsewhere. When 

her mother died unexpectedly, Werner had provided some con-

solation to Mathilde, who was his niece in the second degree. 

Though he did not reciprocate her feelings, he had known for 

years that she was waiting for him. Now the time had come – and 

Mathilde was a good choice: he could rely on her, she knew his 

family and understood the close ties among the Siemens brothers. 

The Siemens family had previously made marriages with relatives 

Mathilde Drumann and Werner von Siemens, 1852 

1838  

Mathilde Siemens marries Göttingen chemist Carl Himly, later appointed 

a professor at the University of Kiel. The couple will have six children.

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rather often, and for similar reasons. And such marriages were 

also rather commonplace among the 19th century bourgeoisie in 

general.

17

 In a letter to William, Werner was frank about his rea-

sons for getting engaged to Mathilde Drumann: 

Even if his choice of a wife was a decision of the head, not the 

heart, Werner von Siemens had no intention of living in a mar-

riage of convenience. After their engagement, he heaped his fi an-

cée with displays of affection. Mathilde was wary at fi rst, but at 

last realized he was serious. The wedding was held in Königsberg 

on October 1, 1852, with only a small group in attendance. A few 

days later, along with the families of Johann Georg Halske and 

Johann Georg Siemens, the newlyweds moved into Markgrafen-

straße 94. 

“My bride is no particular beauty, but that is a secondary question. 

I am certain that I will live contentedly and happily with her, and 

that is enough.” 

18

Rise to a multinational family entrepreneur 

Shortly after his engagement in January 1852, Werner had left 

for Russia to land contracts there. Russia lagged far behind in 

electrical telegraphy, so there was no domestic competition for 

Siemens & Halske. The Russian telegraph system was under the 

state’s General Roads Administration, whose Director General, 

Count Piotr Andreievitch Kleinmichel, gave Werner von Siemens 

a sympathetic ear. A few months later, the German company re-

ceived a major contract from the tsar’s empire. In June 1853, Wer-

ner assigned the management of the Russian business to his 

brother Carl, who now moved to St. Petersburg and demonstrated 

his ability with the technically challenging construction of a 

submarine line between St. Petersburg and the island suburb of 

Kronstadt. Over the next two years, Siemens & Halske’s revenues 

from Russia leaped ahead. To fi ght the Crimean War against the 

Ottoman Empire, the British Empire and France, the Russians ur-

gently needed electrical telegraph connections. In a short time 

Carl von Siemens managed to build telegraph lines between 

Moscow and the Crimean peninsula and between St. Petersburg 

and the Baltic region. Siemens & Halske was now the monopoly 

supplier to the Russian state, and was able to push through lucra-

tive maintenance agreements. For a time, nearly 90 percent of the 

company’s total revenues came from the Russian telegraph busi-

ness. In recognition of these successes, in 1855 Carl von Siemens 

replaced his cousin Johann Georg as a partner in Siemens & 

Halske. 

1852  

Mathilde Drumann is Werner von Siemens’ niece in the second degree. 

There have already been three marriages between her mother’s family and 

the Siemenses.

1853  

The Crimean War between Russia and the Ottoman Empire begins. 

It ends in a Russian defeat after England and France enter the war on the 

Ottoman side. 

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By the time the company began getting government contracts 

again in Prussia in 1857, it was far and away the leading maker in 

the German telegraph market. That was due not least of all to the 

partners’ technical and design skills: the Siemens pointer tele-

graph had now been rendered obsolete by the Morse telegraph, 

and Siemens & Halske had responded by producing improved 

Morse devices. Additionally, by designing a two-way telegraph 

(1854) and the so-called double-T armature (1856), Werner von 

Siemens made important contributions toward the improvement 

of long-distance telecommunications. An agreement with British 

cable maker R. S. Newall & Co. gave Siemens & Halske an entrée 

into the new fi eld of submarine cable telegraphy. In the summer 

of 1857, on a fi rst cable expedition with his British business part-

ners in the Mediterranean, Werner von Siemens developed his 

own cable-laying theory, which made a signifi cant contribution to 

the project’s success. He had now decided to establish a subsidi-

ary in London so as to tap the world market for submarine cables 

from there. Once again the brothers’ fraternal bonds made a 

key contribution to the company’s international expansion. At the 

beginning of October 1858, they founded “Siemens, Halske & Co.” 

in London, under the management of William Siemens, with the 

partners of Siemens & Halske as joint investors with William. 

Risks and opportunities in the submarine cable business

The submarine cable business involved substantial risks because 

the technology was not mature and required a large fi nancial out-

lay. Werner von Siemens got some sense of the nature and scope 

Employees of the Russian maintenaince service 

of Siemens & Halske, undated photo

First construction office in St. Petersburg, 1853

1855–1867  

Siemens & Halske takes charge of maintenance and operation 

for the Russian state telegraph network. These Remonte contracts ensure a 

reliable income for the company. 

1851  

The fi rst permanent submarine telegraph cable begins operation 

between Dover and Calais.

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