Leo Maximilian Baginski
Encyclopedia
Leo Maximilan Baginski, known as Max Baginski (born June 7, 1891 in Kolmar (now Chodzież
), Province of Posen
; died March 19, 1964 in Locarno
, Switzerland
) was a German entrepreneur
, inventor and marketing
specialist. He invented the „Spalt“-tablet, an analgesic bearing a characteristic split-mark. He donated the funds for building the Catholic parish church of St. Katharina in Bad Soden am Taunus, Germany
.
Max Baginski was born as one of seven children of a mason and contractor. After the death of his father in 1897, he lived with aunt and uncle. After school he went to Berlin
, where he completed a mercantile apprenticeship. He quit his first job after six months and started his own business marketing a first patented invention, an all-purpose bottle cap. In 1912 he acquired the pharmaceutical firm Dr. Ballowitz & Co. in Berlin. While he served in the German armed forces during World War I, his companies were run by three of his sisters. In 1920 he married Katharina Stanke (1900-1982). The couple had three daughters and one son..
The big success of another invention, a massage device, enabled Baginski to expand his enterprise. In 1931 he teamed up with the prominent serologist Hans Much
(1880-1932) and founded another company named „Prof. Dr. med. Much’sche Präparate m.b.H.“, where the „Spalt“-tablet was created in 1932. After World War II, however, most of his production plants ended up in the soviet zone. Baginski himself was accused of having had employed forced labourers, arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp
. There he vowed to build a church, if he would survive.
The Soviet authorities released Max Baginski in August 1948. From his enterprises only the Dr. Ballowitz & Co. had escaped disappropriation, but fortunately, this was where all his trademarks had been registered. This enabled Baginski to go on producing his articles which he did in Bad Soden am Taunus, a spa town some 15 Kilometers northwest of Frankfurt am Main. In 1953, a new factory of the Prof. Dr. med. Much AG started production and in 1955 Baginski fulfilled his vow by providing the funds for a new church for the town’s catholic parish, a new vicarage and a kindergarten that today bears Baginski’s name.
Before his death in 1964, Max Baginski put his son Jürgen in control over the Prof. Dr. med Much AG. Jürgen Baginski sold the company in 1972 to American Home Products Corp. This group, that changed its name to Wyeth
in 2002, integrated the “Much AG” to its subsidiary Whitehall International. The factory in Bad Soden was closed in 1993.
Chodziez
Chodzież is a town in northwestern Poland with 20,400 inhabitants . Situated in the Chodzież County, Greater Poland Voivodeship , previously in Piła Voivodeship .-Geography:...
), Province of Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
; died March 19, 1964 in Locarno
Locarno
Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) was a German entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, inventor and marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
specialist. He invented the „Spalt“-tablet, an analgesic bearing a characteristic split-mark. He donated the funds for building the Catholic parish church of St. Katharina in Bad Soden am Taunus, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Max Baginski was born as one of seven children of a mason and contractor. After the death of his father in 1897, he lived with aunt and uncle. After school he went to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he completed a mercantile apprenticeship. He quit his first job after six months and started his own business marketing a first patented invention, an all-purpose bottle cap. In 1912 he acquired the pharmaceutical firm Dr. Ballowitz & Co. in Berlin. While he served in the German armed forces during World War I, his companies were run by three of his sisters. In 1920 he married Katharina Stanke (1900-1982). The couple had three daughters and one son..
The big success of another invention, a massage device, enabled Baginski to expand his enterprise. In 1931 he teamed up with the prominent serologist Hans Much
Hans Much
Hans Much was a German author, writer and physician....
(1880-1932) and founded another company named „Prof. Dr. med. Much’sche Präparate m.b.H.“, where the „Spalt“-tablet was created in 1932. After World War II, however, most of his production plants ended up in the soviet zone. Baginski himself was accused of having had employed forced labourers, arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
. There he vowed to build a church, if he would survive.
The Soviet authorities released Max Baginski in August 1948. From his enterprises only the Dr. Ballowitz & Co. had escaped disappropriation, but fortunately, this was where all his trademarks had been registered. This enabled Baginski to go on producing his articles which he did in Bad Soden am Taunus, a spa town some 15 Kilometers northwest of Frankfurt am Main. In 1953, a new factory of the Prof. Dr. med. Much AG started production and in 1955 Baginski fulfilled his vow by providing the funds for a new church for the town’s catholic parish, a new vicarage and a kindergarten that today bears Baginski’s name.
Before his death in 1964, Max Baginski put his son Jürgen in control over the Prof. Dr. med Much AG. Jürgen Baginski sold the company in 1972 to American Home Products Corp. This group, that changed its name to Wyeth
Wyeth
Wyeth, formerly one of the companies owned by American Home Products Corporation , was a pharmaceutical company. The company was based in Madison, New Jersey, USA...
in 2002, integrated the “Much AG” to its subsidiary Whitehall International. The factory in Bad Soden was closed in 1993.