Gustav Wilhelm Wolff

German born British shipbuilder and politician

Gustav Wilhelm Wolff (14 November 1834 – 17 April 1913) was a German born British shipbuilder and politician. Born in Hamburg, he moved to Liverpool in 1849 to live with his uncle, Gustav Christian Schwabe. After serving his apprenticeship in Manchester, Wolff was employed as a draughtsman in Hyde, Greater Manchester, before being employed by the shipbuilder Edward Harland in Belfast as his personal assistant. In 1861, Wolff became a partner at Harland's firm, forming Harland and Wolff. Outside shipbuilding, Wolff served as a Belfast Harbour Commissioner. He also founded the Belfast Ropeworks, served as Member of Parliament for Belfast East for 18 years and as a member of the Conservative and Unionist Party and Irish and Ulster Unionist parties.

Gustav Wilhelm Wolff was born on 14 November 1834 in Hamburg to Moritz Wolff, a merchant and his wife, Fanny Schwabe. Gustav was brought up in the Lutheran Church as his family had converted from Judaism in 1819. The firm considered Wolff so able that he was chosen to represent the company at the 1855 Paris Exhibition. In 1860, Edward Harland recruited Wolff as his business partner, and Harland and Wolff was formed.

Wolff's early role at Harland and Wolff involved his engineering and managing the yard. he had links with the Jewish community in Hamburg and in Britain, and was able to attract business to the shipyard. His company was the first to begin construction of the RMS Titanic. After the conversion of Harland and Wolff to limited company status in 1888, Wolff was appointed as a director. Wolff was then returned unopposed until his retirement from parliament in 1910.