Julius Magg (25 November 1884 – 5 May 1931) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

engineer and university professor. In the early 20th century, he contributed significantly to the further development of the

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

. Later, he was known as the founder of the ''Graz method of engine design''.

Life and career

Julius Magg was born into a civil servant family in

Wilten Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

. He studied

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 ...

at the

Technical University of Graz Graz University of Technology (, short TU Graz) is a public research university located in Styria, Austria. It was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria and is the oldest science and technology research and educational institute in Austria. ...

and philosophy at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. When he graduated, he was awarded for outstanding academic performance. In 1907, he obtained a PhD in Technical Science and worked as an engineer for Andritz in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

and for Hantel und Lueg in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. In 1910, Magg returned to Graz and became a university lecturer teaching ''theoretical machine design'' until he became a deputy professor for thermodynamics. At a visit in

Vöcklabruck Vöcklabruck () is the administrative center of the Vöcklabruck District, Vöcklabruck district, Austria. It is located in the western part of Upper Austria, close to the A1 Autobahn as well as the B1 highway. Vöcklabruck's name derives from th ...

, Magg met Charlotte Horzeyschny, who then studied Geography and History at the University of Graz. They got married in 1910. Charlotte and Julius Magg had no natural children but adopted a son in 1924. In World War I, Magg was ordered to build a steel mill. Starting in 1920, Magg, now Professor for Thermodynamics and Internal Combustion Engines, helped planning the new building for the Mechanical Engineering Faculty of the Graz University of Technology where he installed a laboratory for

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

s. At this time, Magg and his wife lived in Geidorf. After suffering a stroke in 1930, he had to stop working as a university professor; not recovering from the stroke, Julius Magg died on 5 May 1931.

Hans List Hans List (30 April 1896, Graz, Austria – 10 September 1996, Graz) was a technical scientist and inventor and entrepreneur. Biography After earning a doctorate in engineering at the Technical University in Graz, Hans List was appointed to the ...

continued Magg's work. His unpublished works are kept in the Styrian state archive.

Published works

*
Steuerungsdiagramm für Viertaktmaschinen
' in Vereins deutscher Ingenieure journal, 1913, issue 57, pp. 263. *''Die Steuerungen der Verbrennungskraftmaschinen''. Springer-Verlag. Berlin. 1914. *''Dieselmaschinen. Grundlagen, Bauarten, Probleme'' VDI-Verlag Berlin. 1928.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magg, Julius 1884 births 1931 deaths Engineers from Innsbruck University of Graz alumni Academic staff of the University of Graz