German Contributions to the World

German Contributions to the World
Past and PresentProf. AlbrechtClassenUniversity of Arizona
Germany – a small country
With some of the greatest contributions to world culture, literature, the arts, technology, medicine, philosophy, and religion
Charlemagne and the Rise of Europe
First Germanic Empire north of the Alps, after the fall of the Roman Empire (8thcentury)
German and English
English is a Germanic language!Anglo-Saxon as the basis of modern English (with strong Anglo-Norman superstructure since 1066)
Gun Powder
14thcentury: Berthold Schwartz (perhaps a legend)Radical transformation of all military operationsBrought an end to medievalknighthood(ok, the first were the Chinese, then the Arabs, in late antiquity the Byzantines with their Greek Fire, and in the 13thc. Roger Bacon)
Printing Press: Johann Gutenberg
Gutenberg invented the movable type in Mainz ca. 1450
Computer
KonradZuse: first construction in 1936, 1941 the first functioning computer
Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther
99 theses, Wittenberg, 1517September Testament, 1522Old Testament, 1532
AlbrechtDürer
Greatest sixteenth-century artist, at least north of the Alps
Vacuum
Otto von Guericke 1663 (Mayor of Magdeburg), discovers the principle of vacuum
Classical and Romantic Literature
Goethe and SchillerHeineHölderlinHeinrich von KleistEichendorffJacob and Wilhelm Grimm
19th-21stCentury German literature
Theodor StormConrad Ferdinand MeyerTheodor vonFontaneThomas MannBertoltBrechtHermannHesseNelly SachsHeinrichBöllGünter GrassHertaMüller
Marxism
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
German Music
BachHändelTelemannPachelbelMozartHaydnvan BeethovenHindemithStockhausen
Chemistry:Justus von Liebig
1803-1873Agricultural and biological chemistry
Telephone
Philipp Reis 1859
Dynamo
Werner von Siemens, 1866
The automobile
Daimler BenzPorscheAudiVWOpel
Blue Jeans
Levi Straus, 1873
Diesel engine
1890 Rudolf Diesel
Street Car
Werner von Siemens 1881
Tea bag
AdolfRambold, 1929
Nuclear Physics
Otto Hahn 1938
Relativity Theory
Albert Einstein 1905
X-ray
Wilhelm ConradRöntgen1895In modern German we use the verb “röntgen” for ‘to x-ray’
Aspirin
FELIX HOFFMANN (working for the company Bayer)1897
Bacteriology and Virology
Robert Koch, 1882: discovery of the tuberculosis bacillusFoundation of modern medical and biological research
Spark Plug
Robert Bosch 1902
Beer
Purity Law issued by the Bavarian Dukes on April 23, 1516
Orthopedic leg
1997 Otto Bock introduces the C-Leg
Tooth paste
OTTOMAR HEINSIUS VON MAYENBURG1907
Chip card
Jürgen Dethloff and Helmut Gröttrup: 1968 patent, 1977 micro processing cardSince then the world of credit cards and all other kinds of cards based on chip memory
Screw Anchor, orraw plug/dowel
1958ArturFischer
Jet engine
Hans vonOhain1936
Television
Manfred vonArdenne, 19301935 first regulartvprogram
Gliding plane
Otto von Lilienthal 1894This inspired the Brothers Wright to experiment with their first motorized planes
Light bulb
HeinrichGöbel1854
Homeopathic medicine
Samuel von Hahnemann, 1797
Helicopter
HeinrichFocke, 1936
Coffee filter
MelittaBenz, 1908She was just tired of handling all the waste coffee in her drink and used, as a stop-gap measure, her son’s ink-pad paper from school. Voila, the coffee filter was invented.
Air bag
1971 Mercedes Benz develops the first effective air bag
Modern refrigerator
CompanyForon1993:Freon freerefrigerationThis has revolutionized the global battle against the depletion of the ozone layer
Motorcycle
WilhelmMaybachand Gottlieb Daimler 1885
MP3 player
1993;Fraunhofer-Institute
Mouth Organ, or chromatic harmonica
Christian FriedrichBurschmann, 1821
Wood based paper
Friedrich Gottlieb Keller 1843
Birth control pill
Schering company, 1961
Record player
Emil Berliner 1887
Scanner
Rudolf Hell 1951
Let’s not forget all the other countries in the world
Let’s not forget the countless other inventions from all over the world.
Nevertheless, Germany
has been and continues to be an amazing country and people!It has contributed to a disproportionate degree to the cultural and technological development of this world!
Thank you very much!
For further information, contact me at:[email protected] 621-1395