Social Progress — Joseph Eugène Schneider

Eugene Schneider created what was, at the end of the 19th century, one of the world’s largest industrial firms. He did this by investing both in new technology and in improving the social fabric in the surrounding community. Beginning in 1836, Eugene Schneider and his brother toke over failing iron and coal mines and a foundry, near the town of Le Creusot. Schneider et Cie manufactured iron and steel, equipment for the railroads, and ships and armaments for the French military. The decision by France, in 1842, to develop a national railroad network assured a steady demand.

But, assuring a stable, skilled industrial workforce in rural France took some doing. In its first 30 years, Schneider et Cie. grew from a company that employed fewer than 1000 workers into a firm that employed 11,000. Schneider took the remarkable step of providing education free to the children of his workers, including technical training for new skilled workers. This was before it was considered important to make education widely available. Later, Eugene entered politics, and he served in the Chamber of Deputies during the Second Empire.

Eugene Schneider, industrialist, is one of the 72 engineers and scientists named on the Eiffel Tower.