Friedrich "Fritz" Canthal

Friedrich Canthal (* April 1848 in Hanau; † November 1922) was entrepreneur and local politician in Hanau.

Friedrich („Fritz“) Canthal was born in Hanauer Judengasse as the son of a brandy and liquor manufacturer. In 1863, after the death of his father, he took over the company and developed it into one of the leading companies in the industry in Südwest Germany. From 1876 he was a member of the Hanau Chamber of Commerce, whose president he was between 1891 and 1918.

From 1884 he was also active in Hanau's local politics, and from 1898 to 1908 he was chairman of the city council. Subsequently, he was a member of the provincial parliament of the province of Hesse-Nassau until 1916.

Canthal was significantly involved in the expansion of Hanau to a military base, when part of the railroad troops of the German Empire were stationed here. From 1896 to 1899 he was a member of the first supervisory board of the Hanauer Kleinbahn AG and then again from 1902 to 1917. In addition, he operated the expansion of the Hanauer Mainhafen. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Hanau Drawing Academy.

Emperor Wilhelm II. awarded him the title „Kommerzienrat“ in 1904 and the title „Geheimer Kommerzienrat“ in 1918. He was the first Bürger with origins from a Jewish family who was able to occupy such a prominent position in Hanau city society.

Friedrich Canthal was buried in the Main Cemetery of Hanau . In 1916, Friedrich Canthal received the honorary citizenship of the city of Hanau. The Canthalstra;e near the Hanau Mainhafen is named after him. His son Dr. Werner Canthal later managed the company „W. C. Heraeus GmbH“.