John Cockerill

John Cockerill (3 August 1790 – 9 June 1840) was an English-born industrialist who became a prominent businessman in Belgium. Born at Haslingden, Lancashire, England, he was brought by his father (British entrepreneur William Cockerill) to the Liège region, where he continued the family tradition of building wool-processing machinery. He founded an ironworks named John Cockerill & Cie. (English: John Cockerill & Company).

Life and career At the age of twelve, John Cockerill was brought to Verviers (subsequently part of Belgium) by his father William Cockerill, who was successful as a machine builder there. In 1807, aged 17, he and his brother Charles James Cockerill took over the management of a factory in Liege. Their father retired in 1813, leaving the management of his business to his sons.

In September 1813, he married Jeanne Frédérique Pastor, the same day her sister Caroline married Charles James Cockerill.

After the victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Prussian Minister of Finance, Peter Beuth, invited the Cockerill brothers to set up a woollens factory in Berlin.

In 1814, the brothers bought the former palace of the Prince Bishops of Liege at Seraing. The chateau became the plant headquarters and the ground behind it the factory site (founded 1817); it was to become a vertically integrated iron foundry and machine manufacturing factory. William I of the Netherlands was joint owner of the plant. ) a coke fired blast furnace. having been bought out by John in 1822. After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, the new Kingdom of Belgium claimed the property of William I,

King William I pictured with Cockerill in 1829 in the propaganda publication Les Rencontres historiques (1829-30). The original caption reads: "Continue without fear your great enterprises and remember that the King of the Netherlands always has money at the service of industry." Cockerill's chateau at Seraing is in the background. During John Cockerill's lifetime, the factories produced not only spinning engines and steel, but steam engines (including air-blowers, traction engines, and engines for ships); He also had interests in collieries and mines, as well as factories producing cloth, linen and paper. With debts of 26 million francs on assets of 15 million, he travelled to St. Petersburg to make arrangements with Nicholas I of Russia, with the hope of raising funds. On his return, he contracted typhoid and died in Warsaw on 19 June 1840, leaving no heirs. The steel-making activities of the firm continued through various mergers, eventually becoming part of Cockerill-Sambre in 1981; the Cockerill name was retained until a 1998 merger with Usinor. Some mechanical engineering activities continued as Cockerill Maintenance & Ingénierie, which was split off as a separate company in the late 20th century.

A monument to him and the industrial workers of Belgium stands in the centre of the Place du Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein in Brussels. On 1 February 2024, this monument was vandalised during a farmers' protest that took place in front of the European Parliament.

Honours Knight of the Order of Leopold.