RINGHOFFER, R. František (I)
* 11. 7. 1744, Müllendorf, Hungary
† 28. 8. 1827, Prague, Czech Republic
Entrepreneur
Three-generations with baptismal name František originate from Prague’s major hardware manufacturer R., who continually developed the company – a today well-known group ČKD-TATRA, which deals with the construction of trams, most common in Central Europe. František R. (I) arrived in Prague as coppersmith in 1769. After passing the master examination he organized a coppersmith workshop for the production of brewing devices in the old center of Prague in 1771 and bought it in 1787. In 1791 he was director of copper mine in Prague and in 1793 municipal chief and advisor to the city of Prague. His only son Josef R. built a coppersmith workshop and a rolling mill in Kamenice near Jílové in 1820, while his father was still alive. After his father’s death in 1827, he took over the Prague workshop and expanded the range of products with the machine parts for sugar factories and production plants for the spirit production. From 1832 on he was a coppersmith master and in 1843 received the state right to produce both copper and other metal products.
After his death, his son, František R. (II), took over the company. In 1847 he first bought a house in Prague and then in 1848 acquired the Decree on the right to manage the state factory. A successful purchase of a large piece of land in Prague-Smíchov in 1852, where R. set a company for the manufacture of railway wagons and steel foundry, had a long-term importance for the further extension. The first freight wagon left the factory in 1854, the first tender in 1857 and the first passenger carriage in 1863.
