List of German inventors and discoverers

This is a list of German inventors and discoverers. The following list comprises people from Germany or German-speaking Europe, and also people of predominantly German heritage, in alphabetical order of the surname.

Existing:  A B C D E F G H  I   J  K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
See also Notes References External links

A
Manfred von Ardenne in 1933
  • Ernst Abbe: Invented the first refractometer, and many other devices. Donated his shares in the company Carl Zeiss to form Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung, still in existence today.
  • Franz Carl Achard: Developed a process to produce sugar from sugar beet. Built the first factory for the process in 1802.
  • Robert Adler: Invented a better television remote control.
  • Konrad Adenauer: Invented soya sausage (1916; "Kölner Wurst")[1] and, together with Jean and Josef Oebel, [coarse] wholemeal bread (1917; Kölner Brot).[2]
  • Georgius Agricola: Named "the father of mineralogy".
  • Wilhelm Albert: Invented the wire rope 1834.
  • Kurt Alder: Discovery of the Diels–Alder reaction, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1950.
  • Richard Altmann: Discovery of the Mitochondrion
  • Alois Alzheimer: Psychiatrist who discovered Alzheimer´s disease, a degeneration of the brain in old age.
  • Ottomar Anschütz: in 1883 he patented a camera with an internal roller blind shutter mechanism, just in front of the photographic plate. Thus the focal-plane shutter in modern recognizable form was born.
  • Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe: Invented the gyrocompass in 1907.
  • Manfred von Ardenne: Self-taught researcher, applied physicist and inventor. Inventor of television among other things. 600 patents in fields including electron microscopy, medical technology, nuclear technology, plasma physics, and radio and television technology.
  • Leo Arons: Mercury-vapor lamp together with Peter Cooper Hewitt.
  • Carl Auer von Welsbach: Gas mantle
  • Leopold Auerbach: Discovery of Plexus myentericus Auerbachi, or Auerbach's plexus.
  • Max Abraham: Physicist. Worked as Max Planck's assistant for three years. Developed theories on electrons.

B
Adolf von Baeyer
Martin Behaims Globe 1493
Replica of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen built in 1885
Ludwig Bölkow, instrumental in the development of the Me 262.
Wernher von Braun
Robert Bunsen
Carl von Clausewitz, father of modern military theory.

C
  • Georg Cantor: Mathematician, discoverer of the set theory (1870s), which has become a fundamental theory in mathematics.
  • Ernst Boris Chain: biochemist, co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin (together with Fleming).
  • Carl von Clausewitz: The father of modern military theory.
  • Justus Claproth: Jurist and inventor of recyclable paper and deinking.
  • Nicolaus Copernicus: Astronom, formulated a heliocentric model of the universe which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center.
  • Manfred Curry: German American yachtsman, developed the cam cleat used on sailboats to easily and quickly secure a rope, discoverer of the pseudoscientific phenomenon of "geomagnetic lines" called the Curry Grid.

D
Gottlieb Daimler, co-founder of Mercedes-Benz
Inventor Caroline Eichler

E
Albert Einstein in 1921, the year he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
  • Paul Ehrlich: Scientist in the fields of hematology, immunology, and chemotherapy, and Nobel laureate. Developed an effective treatment against syphilis.
  • Caroline Eichler: Inventor, first woman to receive a patent (for her leg prosthesis)
  • Albert Einstein: Father of Theoretical Physics, inventor and discoverer.
  • Ludwig Elsbett: Developed new concepts for Diesel engines which drastically enhanced efficiency.
  • Douglas Engelbart: German American inventor of the computer mouse.
  • Evaristo Conrado Engelberg: Inventor in 1885 of a machine used to remove the husks from rice and coffee, the Engelberg huller.
  • Friedrich Engels: He invented together with Karl Marx the economic and sociopolitical worldview Marxism.
  • Hugo Erdmann: Chemist who discovered, together with his doctoral advisor Jacob Volhard, the Volhard-Erdmann cyclization. In 1898 he was the first who coined the term noble gas (the original noun is Edelgas in German).[5]
  • Leonhard Euler: Swiss mathematician and physicist. One of the most influential mathematicians of the 18th century.

F
Emil Fischer

G
Hans Geiger
Fagus Factory, designed by Walter Gropius and Adolf Mayer
  • Hermann Ganswindt: Inventor and spaceflight scientist, whose inventions (such as the dirigible, the helicopter, and the internal combustion engine) are thought to have been ahead of his time.
  • Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss: German mathematician and physical scientist who contributed significantly to many fields, including number theory, statistics, analysis, differential geometry, geodesy, geophysics, electrostatics, astronomy and optics. Sometimes referred to as "the Prince of Mathematicians".
  • Hans Geiger: Inventor of the Geiger–Müller counter in 1928. It detects the emission of nuclear radiation through the ionization produced in a low-pressure gas in a Geiger–Müller tube. Further improved by Walther Müller.
  • Heinrich Geißler: Inventor of the Geissler tube.
  • Reinhard Genzel: Astrophysicist, he and his group were the first to track the motions of stars at the centre of the Milky Way and show that they were orbiting a very massive object, probably a supermassive black hole.
  • Walter Gerlach: Physicist who co-discovered spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern–Gerlach effect.
  • Edmund Germer: Inventor of the neon lamp (Neonlampe).
  • Max Giese: Inventor of the first concrete pump in 1928.
  • Heinrich Göbel: Inventor of Hemmer for Sewing Machines, 1865,[6] Vacuum Pump (Improvement of the Geissler-System of vacuum pumps, 1881[7] and Electric Incandescent Lamp (sockets to connect the filament of carbon and the conducting wires), 1882[8]
  • Kurt Gödel: Important discoveries in math and logic, such as the incompleteness theorems
Johannes Gutenberg in a 16th-century copper engraving

H
Otto Hahn, the first man to split the atomic nucleus
Felix Hoffmann
Alexander von Humboldt

I
  • Otmar Issing: Economist who invented the "pepet pillar" decision algorithm now used by the ECB.

J

K
Johannes Kepler
Monument to Robert Koch on his name square in Berlin.
Otto Lilienthal
  • Ferdinand Adolf Kehrer : Introduction of the transverse incision technique to minimize bleeding by modern Caesarean section
  • Hermann Kemper: Invented the magnetic levitation train. Patent granted in 1934.
  • Johannes Kepler: Discovered the laws of planetary motion.
  • Donald J. Kessler: Astrophysicist, known for developing the Kessler syndrome.
  • Wolfgang Ketterle: German-American physicist who developed an "atom laser", amongst other breakthroughs. Nobel laureate 2001.
  • Erhard Kietz: Pioneer discoverer of video technology.
  • Gustav Kirchhoff: Discovery of the principles upon which spectroscopy is founded.
  • Martin Heinrich Klaproth: Discovered the element Uranium.
  • Klaus von Klitzing: Physicist, known for discovery of the integer quantum Hall effect, 1985 Nobel Prize in Physics.
  • Ludwig Knorr: Chemist, who together with Carl Paal, discovered the Paal-Knorr synthesis, and the Knorr quinoline synthesis and Knorr pyrrole synthesis.
  • Robert Koch: Physician, discoverer, inventor and Nobel Prize winner. He became famous for isolating Bacillus anthracis (1877), the Tuberculosis bacillus (1882) and the Vibrio cholera (1883) and for his development of Koch's postulates.
  • Arthur Korn: Inventor involved in development of the fax machine, specifically the transmission of photographs or telephotography, known as the Bildtelegraph.
  • Max Kramer: Aircraft engineer. Developed the first operational guided bomb in 1942/43. This first smart bomb was radio controlled and joy-stick operated.
  • Julius H. Kroehl: Inventor and engineer, who built the first functioning submarine in the world.
  • Herbert Kroemer: Physicist, shared the Nobel Prize in Physics 2000 for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics.
  • Werner Krüger: Developed the Krueger flap, a lift enhancement device in modern aircraft wings in 1943.
  • Alfred Krupp: Pioneer in metal casting and metal working process and procedures.
  • Adam Johann von Krusenstern: Navigator and explorer, led the first Russian expedition to circumnavigate the Earth.
  • Dietrich Küchemann: Aeronautical pioneer, developed wings for supersonic speed, such as delta wings as used in the Concorde.

L
Me 163 Replica designed by Alexander Lippisch.

M
Karl Marx
Walther Nernst, Nobel laureate
  • Ernst Mach: Discovered many effects of high speed projectiles; the Mach number is dedicated to his memory.
  • Georg Hans Madelung: Academic and aeronautical engineer; a participant in the development of the Junkers F.13.
  • Karl Marx: Political economist and philosopher, who defined the political/economical background of capitalism and discovered the mechanics of Marxism.
  • Wilhelm Maybach: Together with Gottlieb Daimler the first gasoline-powered motorcycle, power-engine boat and later, 1902, the Mercedes car model.
  • Ottomar von Mayenburg: Inventor of "Chlorodont", the first commercial brand of toothpaste.
  • Georg Meissner: Discovered Meissner's plexus.
  • Lise Meitner: Nuclear physicist, who, together with Otto Frisch, provided a theoretical account of nuclear fission.
  • Julius Lothar Meyer: With Mendeleev he developed the periodic classification of the elements in order of their atomic weight.
  • Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer: He discovered the Triassic predator Teratosaurus, the earliest bird Archaeopteryx lithographica (1861), the pterosaur Rhamphorhynchus, and the prosauropod dinosaur Plateosaurus
  • Gregor Mendel: Discoveries in genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance. First published in 1865.
  • Ottmar Mergenthaler: Inventor who has been called a second Gutenberg because of his invention of the Linotype machine.
  • Rudolf Mössbauer: physicist, discovered Mössbauer effect, shared Nobel Prize in Physics 1961.
  • Johannes Peter Müller: Discoveries in physiology.

N
Hermann Oberth
  • Thomas Nast: The German American "Father of the American Cartoon".
  • Walther Nernst: Inventor of the Nernst lamp and Nobel laureate 1920 in Chemistry.
  • Karl Nessler: Inventor of the permanent wave.
  • Paul Gottlieb Nipkow: Technician and inventor, the "spiritual father" of the core element of first generation television technology.
  • Emmy Noether: Mathematician. Groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics (Noether's theorem). Considered by many as the most influential woman in the history of mathematics.

O

P
Max Planck
  • Wolfgang Paul: Physicist. Co-developed the non-magnetic quadrupole mass filter which laid the foundation for what we now call an ion trap. Shared the Nobel Prize in 1989.
  • Hans von Pechmann: Chemist, renowned for his discovery of diazomethane in 1894. Pechmann condensation and Pechmann pyrazole synthesis.
  • Julius Richard Petri: Bacteriologist who is generally credited with inventing the Petri dish while working as assistant to Robert Koch.
  • Emil Pfeiffer: Discovery of Infectious mononucleosis
  • Fritz Pfleumer: Inventor of magnetic tape for recording sound. He builts the world's first practical tape recorder, called Magnetophon K1.
  • Max Planck: Physicist, Scientist. He is considered to be the founder of the quantum theory, and one of the most important physicists of the twentieth century.
  • Robert Wichard Pohl: In 1938, together with Rudolf Hilsch, built first functioning solid-state amplifier using salt as the semiconductor.
  • Ludwig Prandtl: First to explain the boundary layer and its importance for drag and streamlining in aircraft in 1904. He established and headed the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt in Göttingen, now Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization. During his tenure the first wind tunnel in Germany was built here, thereby establishing a specific design for wind tunnels (Göttingen type).

Q
  • Georg Hermann Quincke: German physicist who invented the Quincke's Interference Tube, an apparatus which demonstrates destructive interference of sound waves.

R
Johann Philipp Reis
Paul Reuter aged 53 years (1869) by artist Rudolf Lehmann
  • Adolf Rambold: Inventor of modern tea bag.
  • Johann Philipp Reis: Inventor of the first phone transmitter in 1861, he also invented the term Telephone.
  • Josef Rodenstock: Founder of Rodenstock, manufacturer of optical systems, ophthalmic lenses and spectacles frames.
  • Ralf Reski: Moss bioreactor (1998).
  • Paul Julius Freiherr von Reuter: Communications pioneer.
  • Fritz Reiche: Was a student of Max Planck and a colleague of Albert Einstein, who was active in, and made important contributions to the early development of quantum mechanics including co-authoring the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule.
  • Hans Reichel: Musical instrument inventor. Inventor of the daxophone and various overtone guitars.
  • Bernhard Riemann: Mathematician, who made lasting contributions to analysis, number theory, and differential geometry.
  • Johann Wilhelm Ritter: Physicist and discoverer of Ultraviolet.
  • Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen: Physicist and discoverer of x-rays/Röntgen rays (8 November 1895), this earned him the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.
  • Arthur Rudolph: Rocket engineer who, together with Wernher von Braun, played a key role in the development of the V-2 rocket.
  • Ernst Ruska: Physicist, developed the first electron microscope in 1933. Nobel laureate 1986.

S
Hand mit Ringen: print of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen's first "medical" x-ray, of his wife's hand, taken on 22 December 1895 and presented to Professor Ludwig Zehnder of the Physik Institut, University of Freiburg, on 1 January 1896
Borosilicate glass as used in chemical labs - Type 3.3 according to (DIN ISO 3585)
  • Otto Schoetensack: Named the Homo heidelbergensis.
  • Otto Schott: Inventor of borosilicate glass. Donated his shares in the company Carl Zeiss to form Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung, still in existence today.
  • Walter H. Schottky: Played a major early role in developing the theory of electron and ion emission phenomena, invented the screen-grid vacuum tube and the pentode.
  • Marx Schwab: Silversmith, invented coining with the screw press around 1550.[10]
  • Theodor Schwann: Discovery of properties of cells in animals.
  • Alois Senefelder: He invented the printing technique of lithography in 1796.
  • Friedrich Sertürner: First to isolate morphine from the opium poppy in 1803/1804, discovering morphine.
  • Philipp Franz von Siebold: Physician and naturalist, detailed description and collection of the Japanese flora and fauna. Introduced Western medicine to Japan and opened a medical school.
  • Ernst Werner von Siemens: Dynamo, pointer telegraph that used a needle to point to the right letter, first electric elevator, trolleybus.
  • Friedrich Soennecken: Invented Hole punch and ring binder.
  • Arnold Sommerfeld: Theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics.
  • Franz Ritter von Soxhlet: German agricultural chemist Prof. Dr. phil. von Soxhlet (1848–1926) invented the Soxhlet extractor in 1879. In 1886, he proposed that pasteurization be applied to milk in order to prevent disease and spoilage. He taught at the Technical University of Munich.
  • Jack Steinberger: German-American-Swiss physicist, co-discovered the muon neutrino, shared 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics.
  • Georg Wilhelm Steller: Chief naturalist on Vitus Bering's expedition during which Alaska was discovered (1741) and pioneer of Alaskan Natural History. Steller's sea cow (now extinct) was named after him.
  • Otto Stern: Nobel laureate; contributed to the discovery of spin quantization in the Stern–Gerlach experiment with Walther Gerlach in 1922.
  • Heinrich Stölzel: Developed the valve for brass instruments which is used today in 1818. Friedrich Blühmel had made a similar development independently at the same time.
  • Horst Ludwig Störmer: German-American physicist. Shared the Nobel Prize in 1998 for the discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations.
  • Levi Strauss: The German American father of blue jeans.
  • Eduard Suess: Discoveries in geology.

T

U
  • Dietrich "Diedrich" Uhlhorn: Engineer, mechanic and inventor, who invented the first mechanical tachometer (1817), between 1817 and 1830 inventor of the Presse Monétaire (level coin press known as Uhlhorn Press) which bears his name.

V
Rudolf Virchow
  • Abraham Vater: Professor of anatomy; Ampulla of Vater.
  • Richard Vetter: Developed the most fuel efficient condensing boiler for heating systems in 1980. Used in many houses in Europe.
  • Rudolf Virchow: "Father of modern pathology"; numerous discoveries in the area of medicine.
  • Hans Vogt: Invented sound-on-film (idea 1905) together with Jo Engl and Joseph Massolle, first sound-on-film for the public on 17 September 1922 in Filmtheater Alhambra, Berlin, Germany.
  • Woldemar Voigt (often: Waldemar Voigt): Physicist, who taught at the Georg August University of Göttingen. He worked on crystal physics, thermodynamics and electro-optics. He discovered the Voigt effect in 1898.
  • Woldemar Voigt (engineer): Chief designer at Messerschmitt's Oberammergau offices and pioneer of the Me 163 and Me 264, project leader of the development of Me P. 1101, Me P. 1106, Me P. 1110, Me P. 1111, Me P. 1112 and Me P. 1116.[11]
  • Jacob Volhard: Chemist who discovered, together with his student Hugo Erdmann, the Volhard–Erdmann cyclization.

W
Wankel engine, type DKM54 (1957)

Y
Konrad Zuse's Z1; replica in the German Museum of Technology in Berlin

Z

See also

Notes
  1. Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger (1770-1829), known as the "Flying Tailor of Ulm", started with flight experiments in Ulm, Germany, in the early 19th century. He gained experience in downhill gliding with a maneuverable airworthy semi-rigid hang-glider and then attempted to cross the Danube River at Ulm's Eagle's Bastion on 31 May 1811. The tricky local winds caused him to crash and he was rescued by fishermen, making him the first survivor of a water immersion accident of a heavier-than-air manned "flight machine". Though he failed in his attempt to be the first man to fly, Berblinger can be regarded as one of the significant aviation pioneers who applied the "heavier than air" principle and paved the way for the more effective glide-flights of Otto Lilienthal (1891) and the Wright Brothers (1902). Less known are Berblinger's significant contributions to the construction of artificial limbs for medical use, as well as the spring-application in aviation. His invention of a special mechanical joint was also used for the juncture of the wings of his "flying machine". Because of his worthwhile contributions to medicine and flight, in 1993 the German Academy of Aviation Medicine named an annual award for young scientists in the field of aerospace medicine in his honor.

References
  1. http://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?locale=de_EP&CC=GB&NR=131402 Improvements in the Composition and Manufacture of Sausage Meat and the like; Patent
  2. http://depatisnet.dpma.de/DepatisNet/depatisnet?window=1&space=menu&content=treffer&action=pdf&docid=AT000000074310B&Cl=2&Bi=1&Ab=&De=2&Dr=&Pts=&Pa=&We=&Sr=&Eam=&Cor=&Aa=&so=desc&sf=vn&firstdoc=0&NrFaxPages=2&pdfpage=2 Patent; page 2
  3. John M. Barry, The Great Influenza; The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History (New York: Penguin Books, 2005) 70.
  4. "Blattnerphone", Orbem.co.uk, retrieved 07 February 2014
  5. Renouf, Edward (1901-02-15). "Noble gases". Science. 13 (320): 268–270. Bibcode:1901Sci....13..268R. doi:10.1126/science.13.320.268.
  6. Goebel's patent 47.632 "Hemmer for Sewing Machines"
  7. Goebel's patent 252658 "Vacuum Pump"
  8. Goebel's patent 266358 "Electric Incandescent Lamp"
  9. Christian Friedrich Schönbein (18 October 1799 - 29 August 1868)
  10. History of coin pressing
  11. Boyne, Walter J. (1980). Messerschmitt Me 262: arrow to the future. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-87474-276-3.
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