Koepp, Rudolph

Factory owner, parliamentarian

Born: 16.02.1830 in Biebrich

died: 06.04.1897 in Bad Neuenahr

Koepp studied chemistry in Würzburg and Marburg and became an assistant at the Fresenius Institute. He then went to England, where he initially worked as a teacher in a school in Manchester.

He returned to Germany in the 1850s and founded a chemical factory for the production of oxalic acid in Oestrich in 1859. From small beginnings with just a few workers, this factory developed into a large company that was one of the leading companies of its kind at the end of the 19th century. At that time, Koepp employed 250 workers and 20 employees.

He was also very active in public life. As early as 1863, he was a representative for the Nassau Art and Trade Exhibition. In 1871, he was elected to the Wiesbaden Chamber of Commerce, of which he was president from 1888 until his death. As a representative of the Chamber of Commerce, he served on the Frankfurt District Railway Council, the State Railway Council and the Rhine Shipping Commission.

From 1893 he was a member of the German Reichstag for the Freisinnige Partei; he represented the Rheingau district, the Wiesbaden district and the Untertaunus district. In 1896 he was appointed Kommerzienrat.

Koepp was buried in the North Cemetery.