Adolph von Hansemann

He was a partner in his brother Gustav's textile factory in Eupen, Belgium, until leaving to help manage his father's Disconto-Gesellschaft in 1857.

After his father's death in 1864, Adolph Hansemann continued to develop it by himself, expanding it into the largest private bank in the German Empire and one of the most famous in Europe.

Godeffroy's Sea Trade Society (Seehandels-Gesellschaft) plantations and with Wilhelm Solf worked towards the establishment of German Samoa.

His task was to select land for plantation development on the north-east coast of New Guinea and establish trading posts.

Construction of his Otavi Railroad in German South-West Africa coincided with the Herero genocide there.