Carl Culmann (10 July 1821 – 9 December 1881) was a German

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

. Born in Bad Bergzabern, Rhenish Palatinate, in modern-day Germany, Culmann's father, a pastor, tutored him at home before enrolling him at the military engineering school at

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

to prepare for entry to the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

. Culmann's ambitions were frustrated by an attack of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

and, after a long convalescence, he attended the Karlsruhe Polytechnic School. He joined the

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

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in 1841 as an

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engineer in the design of

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s.Hartenberg (1981) Continuing his mathematical studies, in particular under L. C. Schnürlein, in 1847 Culmann transferred to Munich so that he could improve his English in anticipation of a study tour to the United Kingdom and the United States. His tour lasted from 1849 to 1851, studying the comparative designs of

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...

s and developing new analytical techniques to facilitate his investigations. In 1855, he took up the chair of engineering sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, holding the post until his death. Inspired by the work of Jean-Victor Poncelet, Culmann was a pioneer of graphical methods in engineering (" graphic statics"), publishing his seminal book on the topic, ''Die graphische Statik'' in 1865. A French language translation was prepared in 1879.C. Culmann, translated by G. Glasser, J. Jacquier & A. Valat (1879
Traite de Statique Graphique
via Internet Archive Culmann had a profound influence on a generation of

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

s including Maurice Koechlin, Otto Mohr and Luigi Cremona. He died in Zurich, Switzerland. non.(2001)

References

Bibliography

* non."Culmann, Carl", ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'', Deluxe CDROM edition *Crystal, David (ed.) (1998) "Culmann, Karl (1821-1881)" ''The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia'' (2nd ed.) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, *Hartenberg, R. S. (1981) "Cullman, Karl" in

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Culmann, Carl 1821 births 1881 deaths People from Bad Bergzabern Academic staff of ETH Zurich Structural engineers German civil engineers People from the Palatinate (region) Engineers from Rhineland-Palatinate Karlsruhe Institute of Technology alumni

See also

References

Bibliography

External links