Friedrich Alfred Krupp born 17 February 1854 (d. 1902)Friedrich Alfred Krupp was a member of the German metal-based industrial dynasty. After his father Alfred's death in 1887 Friedrich Alfred assumed control of the family business. His father had been a hard man, known as 'Herr Krupp' since his early teens. His son was 'Fritz' all his life, and was strikingly dissimilar to his father in terms of personality. He was a philanthropist, a rare commodity amongst the Ruhr industrial leaders; though part of his philanthropy went towards supporting the study of eugenics.
He did, however, possess an industrial genius, though of a different sort from his father. Fritz was a master of the subtle sell, and cultivated a close rapport with the Kaiser, Wilhelm II. Under Fritz's management, the firm's business blossomed further and further afield, spreading across the globe. It was under him as well that many new products that would do much to change history were authorised. Hiram Maxim peddled his machine gun, and Rudolf Diesel brought his new engine to Krupp to construct. Fritz was, therefore, the first to bring Europe diesel engines. The programme that eventually resulted in the German U-Boat fleet was also begun during his tenure.
During his lifetime, Fritz married and had two daughters. He also enjoyed living on the island of Capri, where he built a villa and did biological research. In 1902 he, and also the painter Christian Wilhelm Allers, were caught up in a pederastic scandal involving youths Fritz had 'procured' in Capri and transported to the Bristol Hotel in Berlin (after even the corrupt Capri authorities had had enough of his pederacy). A tumultuous few weeks ensued, which ended in the Fritz's death, ostensibly of a stroke, though suicide is a more probable answer.