8
9
had already begun in England, had not arrived in the Kingdom of
Hanover.
It was a bad time for tenant farmers like Christian Ferdinand
Siemens. Agriculture was suffering from falling prices all over
Europe. The elder Siemens was constantly in arrears on the rent.
When the Obergut lease expired in 1823, the owner made no offer
to renew. The eight-member Siemens family was compelled to
move to Menzendorf, a village about 25 kilometers east of Lübeck,
where the father took over the lease on a state-owned farm. There
in Menzendorf, which at the time was in the Archduchy of Meck-
lenburg-Strelitz, the family continued to lead a modest existence.
The setting was an idyllic one for the growing Werner. But his fa-
ther had little success managing this farm as well; the administra-
tors repeatedly threatened to foreclose because he was behind in
paying debts. Meanwhile, new children kept coming. Werner von
Siemens now had four more brothers: Friedrich, Carl, Franz and
Walter. The older boys were educated at fi rst by their grandmother.
Then, at age eleven, Werner entered a secondary school in Schön-
berg. For a year he traveled the nearly six kilometers to school on
foot or riding a pony. Then his father decided to engage a private
tutor, the theology student Christoph Sponholz. Sponholz made
a deep impression on Werner by constantly encouraging his pu-
pils’ ambition and achievement, and rewarding them with excit-
ing stories.
3
Despite the family’s strained fi nancial situation, the parents set
a high priority on educating their sons well. So at age 15, Werner
and his younger brother Hans were sent to a well-known human-
ist Gymnasium – a secondary school – the Katharineum in Lübeck.
It soon became evident that his interests and talents inclined
to mathematics. He could rouse no enthusiasm for ancient lan-
guages. In his second year, he added private tutoring in mathe-
North Germany ca. 1850
Starting 1819
Persistent overproduction of agricultural products causes a
farming crisis in Europe, with prices dropping sharply.
10
11
matics and drawing. But at Easter 1834 he left the school without a
diploma.
Training in the military
When he left school, Werner von Siemens decided to take up
studies at the Bauakademie (academy of architecture) in Berlin.
But his parents were in no position to fi nance that expensive
education. Then what should he do? His tutor from Lübeck coun-
seled the young man to apply to the engineering corps of the
Prussian Army, as an offi cer candidate. That career included three
years of attendance at the artillery and engineering school in
Berlin, where Werner would get an education in technology and
science at the state’s expense. Taking that advice, the 17-year-old
applied to join the Artillery, where he would have better chances
than in the engineering corps, and in the fall of 1834 he was accept-
ed as an offi cer candidate. First he had to serve for twelve months
in Magdeburg. During that time, he became friends with a fellow
member of the brigade, William Meyer, who was almost the same
age. In the fall of the following year, the two friends were permit-
ted to transfer to the artillery and engineering school. There they
took courses in physics, chemistry and mathematics from scien-
tists from the university and other institutions of higher educa-
tion in Berlin. A new world opened up for Werner von Siemens.
The courses aroused an enthusiasm for science that would set the
course for the rest of his life. He completed his artillery-related
studies as a necessary chore.
In the summer of 1837, Werner von Siemens passed the test for
second lieutenant, the lowest rank as an offi cer. The next year he
completed his training in Berlin. He had to return to his unit in
Magdeburg, but was fi rmly determined to apply the scientifi c
knowledge he had acquired. He had no aspiration to a career in
the military – on the contrary, he considered military service solely
as a way of gaining the training he wanted and ensuring a liveli-
hood until he could fi nd work that fi t his talents.
Werner von Siemens as a
second lieutenant, ca. 1842/43
1799
The Bauakademie is founded in Berlin. It offers future builders
and surveyors a thorough training in science and other disciplines.
1834–1849
Werner von Siemens serves in the Third Artillery Brigade.
He will be promoted to fi rst lieutenant only upon his resignation from the
military in June .
12
13
A responsible brother
The next few years were overshadowed by personal misfortunes
for the young offi cer. Both parents, sick and despondent, died
within half a year of each other: his mother at age 47 in July 1839,
his father at age 52 the following January. Christian Ferdinand and
Eleonore Siemens had had two more children, daughter Sophie
and son Otto, while Werner was training in the military. The par-
ents’ death left ten orphans who were not yet of age and for whom
guardians had to be appointed. Werner von Siemens felt respon-
sible for his younger siblings. He could not apply to be their guard-
ian, for under the laws of the era, he still counted as a minor him-
self. But he assumed the role of head of the family, because his el-
der brother Ludwig had been disinherited by their father. Werner
had already brought his brother William to join him in Magde-
burg in 1838. But he could do nothing for the other younger chil-
dren. All the same, henceforth he would feel it was his duty to en-
sure that the family could still keep together.
An officer and inventor
Unlike most of his Magdeburg comrades, Artillery Lieutenant
Werner von Siemens did not spend his free time in card games or
amorous dalliances. His passion was for chemical and physical
experiments – which, lacking a laboratory, he performed in his
own apartment. In 1840 he was transferred to Wittenberg. Now
his experiments turned toward developing a galvanic method for
gilding. He was able to gild a nickel silver teaspoon, followed by
his pocket watch. At last his process matured to the point that it
brought him his fi rst patent, on March 29, 1842.
4
But the young artillery lieutenant was not spending all his
free time on scientifi c experiments. While still at the artillery and
engineering school, he had dueled often – a pastime that was part
of a young offi cer’s code of honor. Duelists and their seconds
risked severe punishment if they were reported. But that seldom
happened. And even when a duel was reported, as a rule the offi c-
ers were quickly pardoned. After one such duel in Wittenberg,
in which Werner von Siemens acted as a second, he was reported
by a wounded offi cer. A court martial then sentenced him to fi ve
years of imprisonment, which he began serving in April 1842 at
the offi cers’ penitentiary of the notorious Magdeburg Citadel.
Only three weeks later, he was pardoned. In his Recollections, he
embellishes the description of his imprisonment, writing that he
set up “a small laboratory” in his “barred but roomy cell”, and was
“quite content” with his situation. During the fi rst month of his
term, he claimed to have conducted “experiments” in his cell that
1. January 1876
Legal adulthood is set at age throughout the German
Empire. Until now, in many regions people still counted as legal minors
until age .
1840s
About to patents a year are granted in Prussia; they always
have a term of fi ve years.
Dostları ilə paylaş: |