Justus Robert Böker (May 27, 1843 in Remscheid, † April 17, 1912) was a German merchant, privy councilor and local politician.
Robert Böker was a merchant in Remscheid. In 1865 he opened a branch of his hardware store in the Ciudad de Mexico, where he had temporarily emigrated. Back in Remscheid, he managed the gas works from 1876 to 1887. From 1877 to 1887 he was a deputy and from 1882 to 1909 a city councilor in Remscheid. In view of the increasing water shortage in Remscheid, in 1881 he had the first waterworks built, fed from wells, which was put into operation in 1884. Since this did not offer an adequate remedy due to the rapidly increasing population of the city in the course of industrialization and on the other hand the strong swelling of the streams and rivers after rainfall, but also long dry periods meant that the water-powered mills and hammer mills often had to stand still for weeks, Böker operated the construction of the first drinking water dam in Germany, the Eschbachtalsperre. This was built from 1889 to 1892 according to plans by Otto Intze. The construction of the Remscheid tram from 1891 to 1893 also went back to his initiative. In 1892 Böker was appointed to the Council of Commerce, in 1905 to the Privy Council of Commerce and on May 18, 1909 to the honorary citizenship of the city of Remscheid. In 1907 and 1911 he made larger endowments for a new hospital building. He also supported scientific research in other ways. There is a bust of Böker at the Eschbachtalsperre.
Robert Böker was married to Auguste née Günther. His daughter Elisabeth Böker (1875-1940) married Adolf Lucas, District Administrator of Solingen.
Source: Wikipedia