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Stephan died in 1897 in [[Berlin]], having made a profound impact on the standardization of mail service worldwide. He was also actively engaged in cultivating purely Germanic terminology for the field of telecommunication and postal services. The German-speaking afterworld thus gained terms such as "Fernsprechapparat" (distance-speaking-device) for telephone, "Wertzeichen" (value-sign) for stamp, "postlagernd" (post-office-stored) for poste restante and "Anschrift" (towards-lettering, analogous to "Ansprache" or "Anrede" for addressing a person or a salutation) for address. The word creations mandated by von Stephan in the 1870s gained circulation at post offices and among its workforce, but many times the Greek or French original term was retained by German speakers. Thus at home people would say "frankieren" for putting stamps on a postcard or letter envelope (Briefumschlag) among themselves, but switch to "freimachen" (absolve from stamp-debt, thus permitting delivery) when at the post office. Or at home they would say "Telefon" in everyday speech, although the arcane official term was "Fernsprecher" (remote speaker) or Fernsprechapparat. His achievements in the field of postal services far outweigh this pedantic purism and it was his proposal to have the [[Siemens|Siemens company]] manufacture telephones which led to the development of an entirely new business segment for the famous German company in 1878.<ref name="Huurdeman" />
Stephan died in 1897 in [[Berlin]], having made a profound impact on the standardization of mail service worldwide. He was also actively engaged in cultivating purely Germanic terminology for the field of telecommunication and postal services. The German-speaking afterworld thus gained terms such as "Fernsprechapparat" (distance-speaking-device) for telephone, "Wertzeichen" (value-sign) for stamp, "postlagernd" (post-office-stored) for poste restante and "Anschrift" (towards-lettering, analogous to "Ansprache" or "Anrede" for addressing a person or a salutation) for address. The word creations mandated by von Stephan in the 1870s gained circulation at post offices and among its workforce, but many times the Greek or French original term was retained by German speakers. Thus at home people would say "frankieren" for putting stamps on a postcard or letter envelope (Briefumschlag) among themselves, but switch to "freimachen" (absolve from stamp-debt, thus permitting delivery) when at the post office. Or at home they would say "Telefon" in everyday speech, although the arcane official term was "Fernsprecher" (remote speaker) or Fernsprechapparat. His achievements in the field of postal services far outweigh this pedantic purism and it was his proposal to have the [[Siemens|Siemens company]] manufacture telephones which led to the development of an entirely new business segment for the famous German company in 1878.<ref name="Huurdeman" />
[[File:Hvstephan-tomb.JPG|thumb|200px|Tomb v.Stephan's in Berlin]]
[[File:Hvstephan-tomb.JPG|thumb|200px|Tomb v.Stephan's in Berlin]]

==Orders and decorations==
===German honours===
* [[Iron Cross]] 2nd Class, on Black Band (1870)<ref name="prus1">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste|volume=3|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878856&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021|chapter=Eisernes Kreuz von 1870|page=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878856&seq=961 959]|language=German|location=Berlin|publisher=Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei|year=1877|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref> ([[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]])
* Knight 2nd Class of the [[Order of the Red Eagle]], with Oak Leaves, ''1873''; with Star, ''26 October 1874'';<ref name="prus2">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste|volume=1|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&view=1up&seq=5&skin=2021|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&seq=63 53], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878831&seq=567 557]|language=German|location=Berlin|publisher=Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei|year=1886|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref> Grand Cross with Oak Leaves, ''27 January 1894''<ref name="prus3">{{citation|title=Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.)|volume=1|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878823&view=1up&seq=7&skin=2021|pages=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878823&seq=332 108], [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015049878823&seq=640 8]|language=German|location=Berlin|publisher=Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei|year=1886|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref> (Prussia)
* Knight 1st Class of the [[Order of the Crown (Prussia)|Royal Order of the Crown]], ''18 January 1880''<ref name="prus2"/> (Prussia)
* Commander's Cross and Star of the [[Royal House Order of Hohenzollern]], ''1 February 1892''<ref name="prus3"/> (Prussia)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Zahringer Lion]], ''1882''<ref>{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden|year=1910|chapter=Großherzogliche Orden|page=[https://digital.blb-karlsruhe.de/blbihd/periodical/pageview/1878803 129]|location=Karlsruhe|language=German}}</ref> ([[Grand Duchy of Baden|Baden]])
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Philip the Magnanimous|Merit Order of Philip the Magnanimous]], ''25 August 1880''<ref>{{citation|title=Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste|chapter=Verdienst-Orden Philipps des Großmütigen|chapter-url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112089248626&view=1up&seq=542&skin=2021|page=70|language=German|location=Darmstadt|year=1894|publisher=Staatsverlag|via=hathitrust.org}}</ref> ([[Grand Duchy of Hesse|Hesse and by Rhine]])
* Grand Cross of the [[Friedrich Order]], ''1873''<ref>{{citation|title=Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg|year=1896|chapter=Königliche Orden|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Pc5CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA96 96]|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Landesamt|language=German}}</ref> ([[Kingdom of Württemberg|Württemberg]])

===Foreign honours===
* Knight 3rd Class of the [[Order of the Iron Crown (Austria)|Imperial Order of the Iron Crown]], ''1861''<ref name="osterreich">{{citation|chapter-url=https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1896&size=45&page=307|chapter=Ritter-orden|title=Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie|date=1896|location=Vienna|publisher=Druck und Verlag der K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei|pages=[https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1896&size=45&page=322 76], [https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1896&size=45&page=352 106], [https://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/alex?aid=shb&datum=1896&size=45&page=387 141]}}</ref> ([[Austrian Empire]])
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Franz Joseph|Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph]], ''1872''<ref name="osterreich"/> ([[Austria-Hungary]])
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Leopold (Austria)|Austrian Imperial Order of Leopold]], ''1891''<ref name="osterreich"/> (Austria-Hungary)
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Dannebrog]]<ref name="staatshandbuch"/> ([[Denmark]])
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Oak Crown]]<ref name="staatshandbuch"/> ([[Luxembourg]])
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Netherlands Lion]]<ref name="staatshandbuch"/> ([[Netherlands]])
* Member 1st Class of the [[Order of Osmanieh]]<ref name="staatshandbuch"/> ([[Ottoman Empire]])
* Grand Cross of the [[Order of Christ (Portugal)|Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ]]<ref name="staatshandbuch">{{citation|title=Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat für das Jahr 1897|year=1896|chapter=Herrenhaus|page=[https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=JXoOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA196 196]|location=Berlin|language=German|publisher=In Kommission bei R. v. Decker's Verlag|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> ([[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]])
* Knight 1st Class of the [[Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov)|Imperial Order of Saint Stanislaus]]<ref name="staatshandbuch"/> ([[Russian Empire|Russia]])
* Commander Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Polar Star|Royal Order of the North Star]]<ref name="staatshandbuch"/> ([[Sweden-Norway]])
* Commander 1st Class of the [[Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav]], ''6 February 1869''<ref>{{citation|title=Norges Statskalender for Aaret 1895|language=Norwegian|year=1895|pages=603-604|chapter-url=http://runeberg.org/norkal/1895/0362.html|chapter=Den kongelige norske Sanct Olavs Orden|location=Kristiania|publisher=Forlagt av H. Aschehoug & Co. (w. Nygaard)|via=runeberg.org}}</ref> (Sweden-Norway)


==Works==
==Works==
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[[Category:Postal pioneers]]
[[Category:Postal pioneers]]
[[Category:Burials at Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof I, Berlin]]
[[Category:Burials at Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof I, Berlin]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Franz Joseph]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal)]]
[[Category:Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class]]

Revision as of 07:59, 10 November 2023

Portrait of Heinrich von Stephan

Ernst Heinrich Wilhelm von Stephan (born Heinrich Stephan, January 7, 1831 – April 8, 1897) was a general post director for the German Empire who reorganized the German postal service. He was integral in the founding of the Universal Postal Union in 1874, and in 1877 introduced the telephone to Germany.

Biography

Stephan was born in Stolp (Słupsk), Pomerania, in the Kingdom of Prussia. He began his career as a local postal clerk in the service of the Prussian post in 1849. In 1866 he was put in charge by the Prussian government of federalizing the postal service that had long been privately run by the noble Thurn und Taxis family. In 1870 he was named director of postal services for the North German Confederation. Stephan's career then moved quickly up the ranks, as he was named Postmaster General of the German Empire in 1876, the Undersecretary of State in charge of the post office in 1880, and the Minister of Postal Services for Germany in 1895.

When Stephan began his work as a postal worker, Germany was divided into 17 independent states, each with its own separate policies and fees. He worked early on to establish a uniform postage rate throughout Germany, to facilitate easier mailing. His general goal of standardization and internationalization is evident in his work to combine the postal service with the telegraph service in Germany, and in his efforts to organize the International Postal Conference in Bern in 1874, in which the Universal Postal Union was established. He introduced the postcard (which he had initially suggested in 1865) to Germany after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck promoted him in 1870: the postcard came into widespread use in the subsequent Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 as a method of communication between units in the field. He is also credited with having introduced the telephone to Germany.[1]

Stephan died in 1897 in Berlin, having made a profound impact on the standardization of mail service worldwide. He was also actively engaged in cultivating purely Germanic terminology for the field of telecommunication and postal services. The German-speaking afterworld thus gained terms such as "Fernsprechapparat" (distance-speaking-device) for telephone, "Wertzeichen" (value-sign) for stamp, "postlagernd" (post-office-stored) for poste restante and "Anschrift" (towards-lettering, analogous to "Ansprache" or "Anrede" for addressing a person or a salutation) for address. The word creations mandated by von Stephan in the 1870s gained circulation at post offices and among its workforce, but many times the Greek or French original term was retained by German speakers. Thus at home people would say "frankieren" for putting stamps on a postcard or letter envelope (Briefumschlag) among themselves, but switch to "freimachen" (absolve from stamp-debt, thus permitting delivery) when at the post office. Or at home they would say "Telefon" in everyday speech, although the arcane official term was "Fernsprecher" (remote speaker) or Fernsprechapparat. His achievements in the field of postal services far outweigh this pedantic purism and it was his proposal to have the Siemens company manufacture telephones which led to the development of an entirely new business segment for the famous German company in 1878.[1]

Tomb v.Stephan's in Berlin

Orders and decorations

German honours

Foreign honours

Works

  • Geschichte der Preussischen Post von ihrem Ursprunge bis auf die Gegenwart: nach amtl. Quellen. Berlin 1859. Reprint 1987, ISBN 3-7685-3686-6.

Notes

  1. ^ a b Huurdeman, Anton A. (2003) The Worldwide History of Telecommunications Wiley-IEEE, New York, pages 169–171, ISBN 0-471-20505-2
  2. ^ "Eisernes Kreuz von 1870", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 3, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1877, p. 959 – via hathitrust.org
  3. ^ a b Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1886, pp. 53, 557 – via hathitrust.org
  4. ^ a b Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (supp.) (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1886, pp. 108, 8 – via hathitrust.org
  5. ^ "Großherzogliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (in German), Karlsruhe, 1910, p. 129{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ "Verdienst-Orden Philipps des Großmütigen", Großherzoglich Hessische Ordensliste (in German), Darmstadt: Staatsverlag, 1894, p. 70 – via hathitrust.org
  7. ^ "Königliche Orden", Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (in German), Stuttgart: Landesamt, 1896, pp. 96
  8. ^ a b c "Ritter-orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, Vienna: Druck und Verlag der K.K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1896, pp. 76, 106, 141
  9. ^ a b c d e f g "Herrenhaus", Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat für das Jahr 1897 (in German), Berlin: In Kommission bei R. v. Decker's Verlag, 1896, p. 196 – via Google Books
  10. ^ "Den kongelige norske Sanct Olavs Orden", Norges Statskalender for Aaret 1895 (in Norwegian), Kristiania: Forlagt av H. Aschehoug & Co. (w. Nygaard), 1895, pp. 603–604 – via runeberg.org

References

  • Beyrer, Klaus and Behringer, Wolfgang (1997) Kommunikation im Kaiserreich: der Generalpostmeister Heinrich von Stephan (Communication in the German Empire: the Postmaster General Heinrich von Stephan) Museum für Post und Kommunikation, Braus, Heidelberg, ISBN 3-89466-211-5, in German
  • Eckhardt, Carl Conrad (1941) Heinrich von Stephan, Founder of the Universal Postal Union University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, OCLC 16793710
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