Benedict Eichwald

Benedict Eichwald (1809 - 6 December 1878) was a German politician and industrialist. Eichwald joined the Prussian Landtag in 1845 for the Radical Faction and was subsequently a member of the Deutsche Fortschrittpartei (1848-1860) and Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (1860-1878), the latter of which he led between 1867 and 1878. From 1870 to 1875, Eichwald was Minister of Labour under Chancellor Leopold von Hofmeinster.

Biography
Little is known about Benedict Eichwald's early life other than that he grew up in a very poor family. Over the years, he gathered a small fortune, enough to become an industrialist and build his own factories. In 1840, he was able to build a cement factory in the Rhineland with fellow industrialist Frederick von Marienwerder. His early motives were aimed at making profit, but that would change in 1845, when he joined the Radical Faction. A few years later, in 1848, he would join the Deutsche Fortschrittpartei. His views continued to shift left as he was more and more influenced by his fellow party members, including Gustav Schwartzmann and Lutz von Sommer, who at that time could be considered as proto-socialists. From 1848 to 1849, Eichwald travelled to America with Alexzander Kazcinowski and Gustav Schwartzmann to attend several international conferences. In 1855 Benedict married to Jocelyn Becker and had a son, Gustav Eichwald, who would follow in his father's footsteps later in life. In 1860, Benedict joined the SPD. That same year, he also founded Germania Steel with Alexander Braun and financed the construction of a steel mill in Silesia. In 1867, after the passing of Lutz von Sommer, Eichwald took over leadership of the SPD. From 1870 to 1875, he was Minister of Labour under Chancellor Leopold von Hofmeinster. On December 6th 1878, Benedict Eichwald passed away due to health complications.