1-157-857 - Oxford Science Archive/Heritage Images

Bird's-eye view of Krupp's works, Essen, Germany, 1876. In 1826, aged only 14, Alfred Krupp (1812-1887) took over the steel-making factory founded by his father Friedrich. He made a fortune supplying steel rails to the expanding German railway network and cannon to the army. At the time of the Franco-Prussian War, Krupp's company was known as the Arsenal of the Reich and by the time of Alfred's death the firm employed some 40,000 people.