Alexander Gouvy
Alexander Gouvy (1856-1921)
1921 Obituary [1]
ALEXANDRE GOUVY died suddenly in January, 1921, at Leipzig, where he was engaged on the mission of recovering French plant which had been removed to Germany during the late war, and distributed at works in that country. By a strange coincidence his death occurred at the same hotel as that of his uncle, who, like himself, died suddenly twenty years before. Alexandre Gouvy was born in 1856 in Upper Hombourg (Moselle), and was the son of Henry Gouvy, a descendant of a Walloon family, which had for many years been connected with the iron trade. He was educated at the Ecole Centrale, and after completing his military service he obtained a post with the Austro-Hungarian Railway Company, with whom he remained for nine years, being engaged in the metallurgical section at the Resicza Works in Hungary, and becoming later manager of the Usines de Hutabankowa.
In 1892 Gouvy became manager of the Alais Works at Tamaris, but three years later he became manager of the Ural mines of the Ural Volga Company in Russia and reconstructed the Awzianopetrewsk Works, on leaving which he established himself as a consulting engineer in Diisseldorf, and was responsible for the laying down of several rolling-mills, electric power-stations, and gas-cleaning plants.
In 1906 he was for a time the manager of the Hughesovka Works after Reymond, the general manager, had been assassinated. It may be remembered that Reymond was shot while driving, and it is interesting to recall that Gouvy was seated by his side at the time.
During the war he was appointed a member of the Technical Artillery Mission sent to Russia, and during 1917-1918 he was at the French Ministry of Munitions. After the Armistice he travelled for some time in the United States. He had had a distinguished metallurgical career, being a recognised authority on blast-furnace practice, gas-cleaning, and on rolling-mill operations. He was a frequent contributor to the Bulletin de la Societe des ingenieurs civils de France, to the Societe de l'Industrie Minerale, and to the Iron and Steel Institute, before which he read several papers.
He was elected a member of the Institute in 1909, and made a member of the Legion of Honour in 1913.