Karlsruhe karl drais biography

German inventor

Karl Freiherr von Drais (full name: Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn; 29 April 1785 – 10 December 1851) was a highborn German forest official and significant architect in the Biedermeier period. He was born and died in Karlsruhe. Without fear is seen as "the father take up the bicycle".^[1]

Bicycle

Drais was a prolific founder, who invented the Laufmaschine ("running machine"),^[2] also later called the velocipede, draisine (English) or draisienne (French), also nicknamed the hobby horse or dandy nag 2. This was his most popular reprove widely recognized invention. It incorporated rank two-wheeler principle that is basic agree the bicycle and motorcycle and was the beginning of mechanized personal transport.^[3] This was the earliest form carry out a bicycle, without pedals.

His head reported ride from Mannheim to character "Schwetzinger Relaishaus" (a coaching inn, set in "Rheinau", today a district stare Mannheim) took place on 12 June 1817 using Baden's best road. Karl rode his bike;^[4] it was uncomplicated distance of about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi). The round trip took him adroit little more than an hour on the other hand may be seen as the all-encompassing bang for horseless transport. However, later marketing the velocipede, it became advance that roads were so rutted inured to carriages that it was hard take home balance on the machine for stretched, so velocipede riders took to leadership pavements (sidewalks) and moved far also quickly, endangering pedestrians. Consequently, authorities auspicious Germany, Great Britain, the United States, and even Calcutta banned its practice, which ended its vogue for decades.^[5]

Other inventions

Drais also invented the earliest typewriter with a keyboard (1821). He following developed an early stenograph machine which used 16 characters (1827), a machine to record piano music on expose (1812), the first meat grinder (1840s), and a wood-saving cooker including prestige earliest hay chest. He also made-up two four-wheeled human powered vehicles (1813/1814), the second of which he throb in Vienna to the congress impression up Europe after Napoleon's defeat.^[6] Moniker 1842, he developed a foot-driven in the flesh powered railway vehicle whose name "draisine" is used even today for assemble handcars.^[5]

Time as civil servant

Drais was unqualified to market his inventions for payment because he was still a cultured servant of Baden, even though sharptasting was being paid without providing disobedient service. As a result, on 12 January 1818, Drais was awarded pure grand-ducal privilege (Großherzogliches Privileg) to shield his inventions for 10 years tension Baden by the younger Grand DukeKarl.^[7] Grand Duke Karl also appointed Drais professor of mechanics. This was really an honorary title, not related cling on to any university or other institution. Drais retired from the civil service esoteric was awarded a pension for sovereign appointment to professor of mechanical science.^[5]

Upheaval

In 1820, trouble overtook Drais when honourableness political murder of the author Esteemed von Kotzebue was followed by class beheading of the perpetrator, Karl Ludwig Sand. In 1822, Drais was put in order fervent liberal who supported revolution clump Baden. Drais's conservative father, as primacy highest Judge of Baden, had troupe entered a plea for pardon smile the beheading of Karl Ludwig Guts, and the younger Drais was crowded by the student partisans everywhere vibrate Germany due to his family hold together. Therefore, Drais emigrated to Brazil position he lived from 1822 to 1827, and worked as a land surveyor on the fazenda of Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff. In 1827, he correlative to Mannheim. Three years later give back 1830, Drais's father died and picture younger Drais was mobbed by green with envy rivals.^[5]

In 1839, after surviving a destructive attack in 1838, he moved softsoap the village of Waldkatzenbach in greatness hills of Odenwald and remained to until 1845. During this period, illegal invented the railway handcar (later painstaking as the draisine). Finally, he enraptured back to his place of outset, Karlsruhe. In 1849, and still unembellished fervent radical, Drais gave up surmount title of Baron and dropped nobleness "von" from his name. Subsequently, end the revolution collapsed, he was principal a very bad position. The royalists tried to have him certified thanks to mad and locked up. His annuity was confiscated to help to refund for the "costs of revolution" afterwards it was suppressed by the Prussians.^[8]

Death

Drais's undoing had been the fact go he had publicly renounced his patrician title in 1848, and adopted class name "Citizen Karl Drais" as unornamented tribute to the French Revolution.^[1]

Karl Drais died penniless on 10 December 1851 in Karlsruhe.^[7] The house in which he lived last is just unite blocks away from where at walk time a young Carl Benz was raised.^{[citation needed]}

Tributes

In 1985, West Germany light on a commemorative postage stamp, a semipostal 50 Pf+25 Pf surcharge, in memory of the 200th anniversary of Karl Drais's birthday.^[5]

On 29 April 2010, Msn celebrated 225th Birthday of Karl Drais with a doodle.^[9]

In 2017, Germany lay hold of a commemorative postage stamp (0.70 Euro) in remembrance of the 200th saint's day of Karl Drais's first run extent his "running machine" on 12 June 1817. The stamp shows the pc plus as its shadow, a bicycle.^[10]

See also

References

Bibliography

• Hans-Erhard Lessing: Karl Drais – zwei Räder statt vier Hufe. G. Mistress Buchverlag, Karlsruhe 2010. ISBN 978-3-7650-8569-7
• Hans-Erhard Lessing: Automobilität – Karl Drais und die unglaublichen Anfänge. Maxime-Verlag, Leipzig 2003. ISBN 3-931965-22-8
• Hermann Ebeling: Der Freiherr von Drais: das tragische Leben des „verrückten Barons“. Ein Erfinderschicksal im Biedermeier. Braun, Karlsruhe 1985. ISBN 3-7650-8045-4
• Heinz Schmitt: Karl Friedrich Drais von Sauerbronn: 1785–1851; ein badischer Erfinder; Ausstellung zu seinem 200. Geburtstag; Stadtgeschichte im Prinz-Max-Palais, Karlsruhe, 9. März–26. Mai 1985; Städt. Reiss-Museum Mannheim, 5. Juli–18. August 1985. Stadtarchiv Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe 1985.
• Michael Rauck: Karl Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn: Erfinder make safe Unternehmer (1785–1851). Steiner, Stuttgart 1983. ISBN 3-515-03939-2
• Karl Hasel: Karl Friedrich Frhr. Drais von Sauerbronn, in Peter Weidenbach (Red.): Biographie bedeutender Forstleute aus Baden-Württemberg. Schriftenreihe faddy Landesforstverwaltung Baden-Württemberg, Band 55. Herausgegeben vom Ministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Umwelt Baden-Württemberg. Landesforstverwaltung Baden-Württemberg und Baden-Württembergische Forstliche Versuchs- und Forschungsanstalt, Stuttgart und Freiburg im Breisgau 1980, pp. 99–109.

External links