Mauro Herlitzka

Published in Diccionario Biografico Italo- Argentino by Petriella and Sosa Miatello, Asociacion Dante Alighieri, Buenos Aires, 1976 ( translated from spanish to english). HERLITZKA, Mauro Engineer. Born in Trieste, in 1871. He studied industrial en electrotechnical engineering in the Turin University, where he was a disciple of Gallileo Ferraris, he graduated in 1894. Later, from 1896 to 1897, being an engineer from Siemens and Halske in Germany, he did a perfectioning course at the Charlottenburg Politechnic in Berlin. Once obtained his titled he start his career in Milan at Pirelli and Co., where hedirected the electotechnic laboratory. One year later he enteredat Siemens and Halske company in Berlin, from where he passed to the Allgemeine Elektrizitats Gessellschaft (A.E.G.) as an engineer chief of the department of Electric Power Plants construction. In this company under his directions were projected and build several important electric plants in Italy, Switzerland, Sweden , Russia and South America. He considered Emil Rathenau (Berlin 1838-1915) founder of the A.E.G. as his mentor. At the AEG under his project and direction was built in Germany the first electrical transport line of high tension (40.000 Volts). In 1897 he visited Buenos Aires for the A.E.G. To evaluate the convenience to install in this city and electric plant. The results of these studies was the creation of the Compañía Alemana Transatlántica de Electricidad (C.A.T.E.) In 1901, he moved definitely to Argentina as chief director of this company till the end of 1910. He consolidated various small electric companies that were providing electric services in Buenos Aires, also he did the extension of the electric distribution to the city as well to Avellaneda and other neighbor cities around and the construction of the super-plant in Dock Sur, once considered one of the world biggest ones. During this period of time he consolidated under the CATE various small power plants that were providing electricity to the city of Buenos Aires, the extension of all the electrical distribution services in the city as well to other surrounding ones as Avellaneda, etc. He directed the construction of the tranway line that connected Buenos Aires with the city of Quilmes adn other ones within Buenos Aires. With engineer Juan Carosio ( director of the Compañía Italo Argentina de Electricidad, sudent companion at the Politechnico di Torino, great friend amd business competitor) have introduced in Argentina for the first time the unwired telegramm system “ Marconi”. Also he directed the construction of the tranway to Quilmes and many other lines in Buenos Aires , and in the province of Corrientes he directed the construction of the Economic Train railroads. He developed activities in the electrical system in Uruguay and directing in Montevideo the tranway system called: La Transatlantica and in Santiago de Chile he organized the investmet ofthe AEG to provide electrical energy and also the electrical tranway system. During this part of his life with the engineer Carosio, he introduced in Argentina for the first time the Marconi wireless telegraphic system. Once he left C.A.T.E., with his own peronal capital, he dedicated himself to the development of the electricity in to the countryside, creating the Compañía Anglo Argentina de Luz e Industrias Eléctricas, Compañía Andina de Electricidad, Compañía Electrica de Cordoba, and many others. Later (1927) associated the argentina capitals with american ones ( EBASCO), in order to perfectionate the electric services in the country, he created the Compañía de Electricidad del Norte Argentino, Compañía de Electricidad de los Andes, Compañía de Electricidad del Este Argentino, Compañía Central Argentina de Electricidad y Compañía del Sur Argentino ( ANSEC ), that practically provided electricity to all the countryside, excepting Rosario, Bahia Blanca and Corrientes. cities. Also the telephone companies were part of his activities, and thanks to him it was installed the telephone services in provinces as Entre Rios, San Juan, Mendoza, San Luis, Santa Fe, Resistencia (Chaco), Tucuman, La Pampa, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, Salta, Jujuy, part of Córdoba , creating the Corporación Sudamericana de Telefonos y Telegrafos, la Compañía Argentina de Teléfonos, la Compañía Entrerriana de Teléfonos y Santafecina de Teléfonos. He created and was his first president of the Corporación Sudamericana de Servicios Aereos, under his direction was done the first international flight from Argentina. Also he was active in industrial and farming activities, where he dedicated a lot of his time too. He founded in the late 1920’s and presided Algodonera Temperley, a cotton yarn industry in Temperley neighborhood in Buenos Aires province and Inyecta Argentina , an aluminum dye casting foundry in Quilmes neighborhood in Buenos Aires province too. Regarding his agricultural and cattle businesses he bought and later sold Estancia Santa Rosa in Larroudé viilage in La Pampa province in Argentina and later in 1934 his bigger task was his Estancia La Sofia , named after his wife Sofia, who owned 14126 hectares , near Las Vertientes village , in Rio IV department , in Cordoba Province in Argentina. In 1913 he created the Asociacion Argentina de Electrotecnicos, which council he presided for several periods, also in 1922 he created the Asociacion de Producotres y Distribuidores de Electricidad, who he presided since its foundation. Also he propelled the sport practices and for many yers he presided the Club Canottieri Italiani (rowing). Also within the Italian community, ti whom always was connected, he was member of War Commettee (1914-1918), founder member of the Instituto de Cultura Itálica and also presided the Circulo Italiano. He was nominated Comendador de la Corona d’ Italia. He died in Buenos Aires in 1960. A train station and village in the department of San Luis del Palmar ( Corrientes) bears his name in honor of whom directed the construction of the Ferrocarril Economico Correntino. His son the engineer Mauro L.J.Herlitzka, born in Turin in 1908 and living in Argentina since he was young, is a proud follower of his father path, working and execising a proficient y renown activities in our country.

He was one of the founders of the Automovil Club Argentino in 1904 : https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4623438j/f3.item.r=Herlitzka...

In his youth with his brother Amedeo participated in the “Inrrendentismo” movement against the Austria Empire, as a result they were arrested in 1892 , see page 69. Also their uncle Alessandro Lustig ( brother of their mother) was a suuporter of this movement, see pages 9 and 52, of the documents of the Archivio del Circolo Garibaldi di Trieste : http://www.sa-fvg.archivi.beniculturali.it/fileadmin/inventari/altr...

The essay “ A Message to Garcia” by Elbert Hubbard ( 1899), had an important impact in his point of view about life achievement, he sponsored its translation in spanish by Roberto Levillier and printed it in Buenos Aires for free distribution in Universities and advanced schools, the first edition was done in the 1931 . Another one was published at Folio Menor series in August 2000 with a preface by his grandson Mauro A. Herlitzka. The text : https://courses.csail.mit.edu/6.803/pdf/hubbard1899.pdf

During the WWI he was a financial supporter of the Italo- argentinian newspaper L’ Italia del Popolo, this was a controversial issue, see in page 51: https://www.academia.edu/35723205/La_stampa_italiana_in_Argentina

As General Director of the Compañia Alemana Transatlántica de Electricidad in the first decade of the 1900s, he was involved in many companies who were electricity consuming, as the Compañía Nacional de Carruajes , the first Taxis company, who in 1906 imported to Argentina 64 electric cars as Taxis ( see Balmaceda, Daniel : Historias de la Belle Epoqie Argentina, ed. Sudamericana, Buenos Aires, 2023. Chapter : Autos Eléctricos, pp 155 to 162)