August von der Heydt
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August von der Heydt (1801-1874) was an influential German economist. During the Revolution of 1848 he was appointed as Minister to the newly created Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Prussia by King Frederick William IV of Prussia and King William I. He helped increase circulation of money at the rate of 12.5%/year. He was responsible for the railways in Prussia and organized new railroad construction and purchased private ones. He reformed the old mining laws, by lowering the tax on the mining industry, ending state supervision, and eliminated the privileges of the miners guild. He also allowed government to be less restrictive of its attitude toward the formation of banks. The formation of many new banks revolutionized Germany by supplying a lot of much needed capital. In 1862 he resigned his position, but he took it back from 1866-67 to help finance the war on Austria.
