Biography

Siegfried Becher (February 28, 1806 March 4, 1873) was an Austrian

Austrians

Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....

 political economist

Political economy

Political economy originally was the term for studying production, buying, and selling, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth, including through the budget process. Political economy originated in moral philosophy...

, born in Plan (Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

). He studied at Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 and Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. In 1831, he entered the government service, and then was appointed professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 at the Polytechnic Institute

Vienna University of Technology

Vienna University of Technology is one of the major universities in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Founded in 1815 as the "Imperial-Royal Polytechnic Institute" , it currently has about 26,200 students , 8 faculties and about 4,000 staff members...

, Vienna, in 1835. From 1848 to 1852, he was employed in the ministry of commerce, for which he made a trip of investigation in 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...

 and Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

in 1849. He died in Vienna.

Works

• Das österreichische Münzwesen von 1524-1838 in historischer, statistischer und legislativer Hinsicht (two volumes, Vienna 1838)
• Statistiche Uebersicht des Handels der österreichischen Monarchie mit dem Auslande während der Jahre 1829-38 (Stuttgart 1841)
• Ergebnisse des Handels- und Zolleinkommens der österreichischen Monarchie von den Jahren 1819-43 (1846)
• Die deutschen Zoll-und Handelsverhältnisse zur Anbahnung der österreichisch-deutschen Zoll-und Handelseinigung (Leipzig 1850)
• Die Volkswirtschaft (Vienna 1853)