Emil Molt
{{Short description|German industrialist, social reformer and anthroposophist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Emil Molt
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1876|04|14|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1936|06|16|1876|04|14|df=y}}
| death_place =
| nationality = German
| spouse = Bertha Molt
| occupation = industrialist
| years_active =
| known_for = Waldorf school
| notable_works =
}}
Emil Molt (14 April 1876, in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Kingdom of Württemberg – 16 June 1936, in Stuttgart) was a German industrialist, social reformer and anthroposophist. He was the director of the Waldorf-Astoria-Zigarettenfabrik, and with Rudolf Steiner co-founded the first Waldorf school. Hence, Waldorf education was named after the company.
Background
Molt was born in southern Germany and was orphaned as a teenager.{{Cite book|last=Sherman|first=Zander|title=The Curiosity of School: Education And The Dark Side Of Enlightenment|date=2012|publisher=Penguin Canada|isbn=978-0-14-318649-6|language=en}} He enlisted in the military and worked for Emil Georgii after he was discharged. Georgii's son Emil Jr. hired Molt to work at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory at Stuttgart. He later became its general manager and owner.
A biography written by Molt's daughter detailed how he purchased the Waldorf Astoria brand name from the tobacconist shop in a New York hotel owned by the Astor family.{{Cite book|last=Stehlik|first=Thomas|title=Waldorf Schools and the History of Steiner Education: An International View of 100 Years|date=2019|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=978-3-030-31631-0|location=Cham|pages=12}}
Waldorf school
Molt's association with Steiner began due to his interest in spirituality, particularly after he signed up as a member of the Theosophical Society in 1906. Steiner was regularly invited to speak in its gatherings.Robert A. McDermott, "Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy", in Faivre and Needleman, Modern Esoteric Spirituality, {{ISBN|0-8245-1444-0}}, p. 288ff The industrialist also became a follower of Steiner's esoteric philosophy called anthroposophy.
After World War I people believed it was possible to initiate new social arrangements. One of them was Molt, who decided to address the educational needs of his factory workers and their children.{{Cite book|last=Steiner|first=Rudolf|title=Rudolf Steiner Speaks to the British: Lectures and Addresses in England and Wales|date=2013|publisher=Rudolf Steiner Press|isbn=978-1-85584-432-2|pages=169}} For this initiative, he was drawn to Steiner's holistic proposition in education, which holds that teaching must attend to multiple aspects of human experience.{{Cite book|last=Nielsen|first=Thomas William|title=Rudolf Steiner's Pedagogy of Imagination: A Case Study of Holistic Education|date=2004|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-3-03910-342-3|location=Berlin|pages=18-19}} Following a series of consultations, Molt and Steiner founded the Waldorf school after gaining the approval of the German Minister of Culture. It opened in September 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany.{{Cite book |last=Steiner |first=Rudolf |title=Rudolf Steiner in the Waldorf School: Lectures and Addresses to Children, Parents, and Teachers (CW 298) |publisher=Anthroposophic Press |year=1996 |isbn=0-88010-433-3 |location=Hudson, NY |pages=229 |language=en}} Molt bought the Uhlandeshohe Restaurant as the school's first building and altered it according to Steiner's specifications.{{Cite book|last=Tautz|first=Johannes|title=W. J. Stein: A Biography|date=2015|publisher=Temple Lodge Publishing|isbn=978-1-906999-76-6|location=Forest Row|pages=83}} The adjoining properties were later purchased as the school expanded. The Waldorf School opened with twelve teachers.{{Cite book|last=Barnes|first=Henry|title=Into the Heart's Land|date=2005|publisher=SteinerBooks|isbn=978-0-88010-857-7|location=Great Barrington, MA|language=en}} Initially, there were 150 students who were chosen from proletarian families and with parents who belong to the Anthroposophical Society.{{Cite book |last=Steiner |first=Rudolf |title=Waldorf Education and Anthroposophy 2: Twelve Public Lectures, November 19, 1922-August 30, 1924 |date=1996 |publisher=Anthroposophic Press |isbn=0-88010-388-4 |location=Hudson, NY |pages=21 |language=en}}
Waldorf schools became the largest independent school movement in the world.drazil, Tomas (2018). "Theorie-Praxis Verhältnis in der Waldorfpädagogik". In Kern, Holger; Zdrazil, Tomas; Götte, Wenzel Michael (eds.). Lehrerbildung in der Waldorfschule. Weinheim, DE: Juventa. p. 34. {{ISBN|9783779938293}}.{{Cite book|last=Provenzo|first=Eugene|title=Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education|last2=Renaud|first2=John Phillip|date=2008|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4129-0678-4|location=Thousand Oaks, CA|pages=952}}
External links
- [http://www.rudolfsteinerweb.com/a/emil_molt.php Bio at Rudolf Steiner Web]
References
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molt, Emil}}
Category:People from Schwäbisch Gmünd
Category:People from the Kingdom of Württemberg
Category:German social reformers
{{Germany-academic-bio-stub}}