Moses Porges von Portheim

Moses Porges, Edler von Portheim, or Moses Porges von Portheim (December 13/22, 1781, Prague – May 21, 1870, Prague) was a Czech-Austrian industrialist (manufacturer) and vice-burgomaster of Prague-Smichow; knight of the Order of Francis Joseph.

He was one of the earliest and most prominent of the large manufacturers of Austria, and was very closely associated with his younger brother, Leopold (Löw) Judah. Moses and Leopold, the sons of the highly respected but poor Gabriel Porges of the Spira family, experienced adventures in the camp of the sectarian Joseph Frank at Offenburg which have been described by Heinrich Graetz in his "Frank und die Frankisten" (Breslau, 1868) and his "Gesch." x., and in greater detail by Dr. S. Back in "Monatsschrift" (1877, pp. 190 et seq.). Disillusioned, they returned to Prague, and began a small linen business, and in 1808 commenced, with a single cotton-printing press and in a dark shop on the Vltava, an industrial activity which was destined later to reach great dimensions.

In 1830 the rapidly growing business was transferred to the suburb of Smichow, where it developed into one of the largest establishments of the Austrian monarchy, and in 1841 the emperor Ferdinand conferred upon the brothers the patent of hereditary nobility with the title "von Portheim", in recognition of the fact that they were the first cotton-manufacturers to employ steam in their works. When this patent had been offered Moses in the previous year, he asked the Oberstburggraf G. V. Chotek for a decree of emancipation of the Jews instead, but this request was not granted. Moses later purchased and operated the porcelain-factory at Chodov together with the mines belonging to it, and after the passage of the laws of 1861 he and his brother entered politics, the latter being elected to the diet, while the former officiated for several years as vice-burgomaster of Prague-Smichow. The most noteworthy among the numerous benefactions of Moses Porges is the still existing crèche, which, without distinction of creed or nationality, for eight months of the year, receives and cares for 150 children daily while their parents are at work.

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia article "Moses Porges von Portheim", a publication now in the public domain.

Persondata
Name	Porges von Portheim, Moses
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1781
Place of birth
Date of death	May 21, 1870
Place of death

This article about a mayor in the Czech Republic is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: 1781 births 1870 deaths Czech businesspeople Czech Jews Mayors of Prague European business biography stubs Czech people stubs Jewish biography stubs European mayor stubs Czech politician stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? WFGC Ragnar Klavan Look at other dictionaries: Joseph Porges von Portheim — Joseph Porges, Edler von Portheim (1817, Prague ndash; September 3, 1904, Prague) was a Czech Austrian manufacturer and art patron; son of Moses Porges von Portheim.On completing his studies at the gymnasium he entered his father s cotton mills;… …   Wikipedia Smíchov — ( de. Smichow) is (since 1909) a district of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and is part of Prague 5. It is located on the left bank of the Vltava (Moldau) river. Between 1945 and 1989, the district contained a monument dedicated to… …   Wikipedia List of European Jewish nobility — Austrian* Arnstein, Arnsteiner * Auspitz * Elkan von Elkansberg (later Bavaria) * Eskeles * Frydman, Ritter von Prawy (cf.Marcel Prawy) * Goldschmidt * Gomperz * Haber von Lindsberg * von Heine Geldern, Heine von Geldern (Freiherr Baron, Gustav,… …   Wikipedia PRAGER, RICHARD — (1883–1945), German astronomer. Prager was born in Hanover. In 1908 he joined the Berlin Academy of Sciences; and in 1909 was appointed head of a department in the National Observatory in Santiago, Chile. From 1913 onward he worked as scientific… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism FRANK, JACOB, AND THE FRANKISTS — Jacob Frank (1726–1791) was the founder of a Jewish sect named after him which comprised the last stage in the development of the Shabbatean movement. He was born Jacob b. Judah Leib in Korolowka (Korolevo), a small town in Podolia. His family… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism BOHEMIA — (Cz. Čecny, Česko, Tschechien; Ger. Boehmen; Heb. פעהם, פיהם, כנען, בהם), independent kingdom in Central Europe, until the beginning of the 14th century, affiliated later in the Middle Ages with the Holy Roman Empire. In 1526 it became part of… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”