Hermann Spamer was born on 3 June 1839 in Asslar, the son of a priest. He began collecting minerals in his youth. The area in which he grew up has numerous mineralogical features. In fact, the whole area in which he grew up harboured mineral resources, some of which were exploited early on. His sense of justice was already awakened when he attended school in Giessen. He was so outraged by the unequal treatment of pupils depending on their parental background that he gave up the idea of civil service and theology and turned to mining and metallurgy. This environment gave Hermann Spamer the desire to devote himself to mining and metallurgy at an early age. After attending grammar school in Giessen, which he left in 1858 with his school-leaving certificate, he initially studied natural sciences at the university there. From January 1860 to autumn 1861, he then worked in mines and smelters in Burbach and Müsen near Siegen, Siegen, Ems, Dortmund, Bochum, Essen and Stolberg near Aachen. He then studied at the Freiberg Mining Academy from 1861 to 1863 with the registration number 2286. Hermann Spamer only wanted to stay in Freiberg for one year, but extended his stay to two years because of the good teachers. From 1863 to 1864, he studied at the University of Leoben.

The search for a suitable job that would have allowed him to marry turned out to be more difficult than he had expected. He volunteered twice so that he was not unemployed and could still broaden his experience. It was not until three years after his exams that he obtained his first permanent position - in Ilsede. In 1867, he became technical director of the mining and smelting company A.G. Ilseder Hütte in Groß-Ilsede in Hanover. The iron from the Ilseder Hütte had a high phosphorus content. For this reason, he set up a laboratory as early as 1868 in which experiments were carried out to reduce the phosphorus content with the help of fluorspar. When the Thomas process was published in 1879, he immediately favoured the purchase of the patent. His own experiments would probably also have taken only a few months to produce a positive result.

The following can be read about Hermann Spamer's achievements in Ilsede in the publication "Aus dem Leben alter Freiberger Bergstudenten" by C. Schiffner: "To get a picture of his work, you have to compare the state of the Ilsede smelter in 1867 with that of the year he left in 1898. In 1867, the hut was at a very low level. Rarely has a man justified the trust placed in him as much as the young Spamer, who, equipped with extensive knowledge and exceptional manpower, took over the technical management and worked tirelessly to make the works one of the most flourishing in the iron industry. In addition to his excellent management skills, he was also responsible for the later introduction of the Thomas process, the work of which he recognised early on. The establishment of the Peiner rolling mill was another significant step forward. When he retired after 31 years in office, he could look back with pride on his Ilseder blast furnaces, whose production had increased tenfold during his tenure...

Spamer was an idealistic, deeply religious man with a strict sense of duty, even towards himself, a man who knew how to win the admiration and love of all those who came into contact with him through his kindness and kind-heartedness.

Many of our ironworkers went to school with him, a large number of volunteers enjoyed the hospitality of Ilseder Hütte and received instruction and inspiration from the man who was always available for this."

Despite his friendship with Rudolph von Bennigsen, Hermann Spamer rejected an application from the National Liberal Party to run for the Reichstag in 1893.

Not only the board members, but above all the entire labour force, including mineworkers, attended his retirement. In his speech, the head smelter Althoff said: "And everyone is convinced that they had a kind and just director in you."

Hermann Spamer died on 5 November 1905 after a serious illness