Ferdinand Jakob Redtenbacher (July 25, 1809 in

Steyr Steyr (; ) is a statutory city (Austria), statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd lar ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

– April 16, 1863 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

) is regarded as the founder of science-based

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

Life

Redtenbacher, son of an ironmonger from Steyr, first went through an apprenticeship in commerce and accounting. After a short interlude as a technical illustrator in the "Baudirektion" (building authority) in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

, he attended the Polytechnikum 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. ...

from 1825 until 1829. He stayed there until 1834 as an assistant to Johann Arzberger. In 1835, he accepted an invitation to become a professor at the Höhere Industrieschule in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, where he taught mathematics and

geometry Geometry (; ) is a branch of mathematics concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. Geometry is, along with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. A mathematician w ...

. In 1841 he finally became a professor in

mechanics Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...

and mechanical engineering at the Polytechnikum Karlsruhe. In 1857 Redtenbacher became director of the entire Polytechnic School and was re-elected annually thereafter. At the same time he held the only professorship at the mechanical-technical school. He was the director of Polytechnikum Karlsruhe between 1857 and 1862, transforming it into a school of international standing. In 1859, this school was renamed the mechanical engineering school and a new building initiated and designed by Redtenbacher was opened on the former riding arena of the dragoon barracks. After 1860 the number of students fell again, which can be explained by Redtenbacher's stomach illness and his irritation and differences with his professor colleagues. According to a contemporary report, his art of presentation had not been the same since 1859.

Influence

Redtenbacher is regarded as the founder of scientific mechanical engineering. Working at the Polytechnikum Karlsruhe, he added a mathematical foundation to the previously empirical teaching. His students include such outstanding engineers as

Karl Benz Carl (or Karl) Friedrich Benz (; born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929) was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent-Motorwagen from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automo ...

, Franz Reuleaux and Emil Škoda.

Works (original titles in German)

* Theorie und Bau der Turbinen und Ventilatoren, Mannheim 1844 * Resultate für den Maschinenbau, Mannheim 1844 * Theorie und Bau der Wasser-Räder, Mannheim 1846 * Principien der Mechanik, Mannheim 1852 * Die Luftexpansions-Maschine, Mannheim 1853 * Die calorische Maschine, Mannheim * Die Gesetze des Lokomotiv-Baues, Mannheim 1855 * Das Dynamiden-System, Mannheim 1857 * Der Maschinbau, Mannheim 1862

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redtenbacher, Ferdinand 1809 births 1863 deaths People from Steyr Austrian mechanical engineers Engineers from the Austrian Empire Emigrants from the Austrian Empire Academic staff of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Academic staff of ETH Zurich TU Wien alumni Engineers from Karlsruhe