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Edmund Elias Rumpler (4 January 1872 – 7 September 1940) was an
Edmund Elias Rumpler (4 January 1872 – 7 September 1940) was an Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n automobile and aircraft designer.
Born in Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, then Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
(now Austria),Wise 1974, p.1964 he worked mainly in Germany.Lyons 1988, p.73 An automotive engineer by training, he collaborated with Hans Ledwinka
Hans Ledwinka (14 February 1878 – 2 March 1967) was an Austrian automobile designer.
Youth
Ledwinka was born in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria), near Vienna, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He started his career as a mechanic, a ...
on the first Tatra car (at that time called ''Nesselsdorfer-Wagenbau''), the Präsident, in 1897.
By age 30, in 1902, he had quit Daimler to become technical director of Adler. He designed the first German engine to have engine and gearbox
A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...
as a unit at Adler. The next year, he patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
ed a swing axle
A swing axle is a simple type of independent suspension designed and patented by Edmund Rumpler in 1903 for the rear axle of rear wheel drive vehicles. This was a revolutionary invention in automotive suspension, allowing driven (powered) whee ...
rear suspension system (an idea later adopted by Ferdinand Porsche
Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...
for the ''KdF Wagen'' and Porsche 356, as well as by Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
for the Corvair).
The Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...
turned Rumpler's attention to aviation. He quit Adler in 1907, and in 1910, copying countryman Igo Etrich
Ignaz "Igo" Etrich (25 December 1879 – 4 February 1967) was an Austrians, Austrian flight pioneer, pilot and fixed-wing aircraft developer.
Education
Etrich was born on Christmas Day 1879 in the Upper Old Town of Trutnov, Kingdom of Bohemia, ...
's Taube, Rumpler became the first ever aircraft manufacturer in Germany. In 1911, he took on Melli Beese as a student pilot and used her flying appearances in competitions as promotion for his aeroplanes.
Rumpler continued to be interested in automobiles, and after the First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he applied aircraft streamlining to a car, building the ''Tropfenwagen'' (German, "drop car") in Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. A production model proved a sensation at the 1921 Berlin Auto Show. Rumpler's efforts produced a car with an astoundingly low Cw of only 0.28 (when tested in 1979); the Fiat ''Balilla'' of the period, by contrast, was 0.60.Setright 1974, p.38
The Rumpler design inspired the 1923 Benz ''Tropfenwagen'' (which used the virtually-unchanged Rumpler chassis) and Auto Union (also built in part by Rumpler engineers) Grand Prix racers.
Rumpler's ''Tropfenwagen'' was not a commercial success, and only 100 ''Tropfenwagen'' were built, just two of which survive. Rumpler returned to aircraft.Lyons 1988, p.74
Because Rumpler was Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, he was imprisoned after Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
took power in 1933, and his career was ruined, even though he was soon released. He died in Züsow Germany in 1940, and the Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
destroyed his records.
See also
* Notable owners of Tatra 77; Rumpler was one of them.Notes
Sources
* Lyons, Pete. "10 Best Ahead-of-Their-Time Machines". ''Car and Driver'', 1/88, pp. 73–4. * Setright, L. J. K. "Aerodynamics: Finding the Right Shape for the Car Body", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis, 1974), Vol. 1, p. 38. * Wise, David Burgess. "Rumpler: One Aeroplane which Never Flew", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Automobiles'' (London: Orbis, 1974), Vol. 17, p. 1964. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rumpler, Edmund Austrian automotive pioneers Austrian inventors 1872 births 1940 deaths Austrian Jews Engineers from Vienna Engineers from Austria-Hungary