Walter Robert Fuchs (March 18, 1937 in

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

– 21 July, 1976 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) was an American-German

science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities that connect science and society. Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the public awareness of and interest in sci ...

and science popularizer.

Life and work

Fuchs was born in

, where his father worked as a bank clerk. He went to

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the ...

school (graduating in 1956), was trained as an electrician and mechanic, and then studied electrical engineering at the Munich Technical University as well as physics, mathematics and philosophy at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. With a dissertation on "Logical problems of classical mechanics and quantum theory", he received his doctorate in 1961. In 1962 he was business editor at television program of Bavarian Radio studios, and since 1965 he had headed the editorial of Applied Science and Technology. Fuchs spent his life in Munich and died at the age of 39 from cancer. "Brücke zum Laien"
''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', May 4, 1976 Fuchs wrote mostly in German; his books were translated into English and other languages and met an internationally wide audience. In 1970, his books had a total circulation of 750,000 sold copies, especially for math and science subjects. '' Modern mathematics'' was translated into fourteen languages, as in the later 1960s, and it helped to popularize the concepts of sets theory. Fuchs was a trained artist and supplied many of the templates for the illustrations of his own works; in his time in Munich, he played clarinet and saxophone in various jazz bands. In 1972 he published his satire ''The Dogs Planet'', a fiction novel.

Bibliography

*'' Logical Investigations to problems in classical mechanics and quantum theory'' (dissertation) 1961 *'' Knaurs book of modern mathematics'' Droemer / Knaur, 1966, 1972 (translated into English: Mathematics for the modern mind, MacMillan 1967). *'' Knaurs book of modern physics.'' Droemer / Knaur 1965th *'' Knaurs Book of thinking machines -. Information theory and cybernetics'' Knaur 1968th *'' Knaurs book of electronics.'' *'' Parents discover the new mathematics. Quantities and numbers'' 1970th *'' Knaurs book of the New Learning.'' 1969th *'' Parents discover the new logic.'' *'' And Muhammad is their prophet -. The Arabs and their world'' 1975th *'' Rebus from the drawing board - an introduction to the modern philosophy'' Knaur 1972 (on analytic philosophy).. *'' Before the earth moved - a world history of physics'' DVA 1975th. *'' Formula and fantasy -. A world history of mathematics'' DVA 1977 (the book was never finished and treated essentially only the antiquity), rororo 1979th *'' Life under distant suns?'' Droemer / Knaur 1973rd *'' The Dog Planet -. Canedusische thought one story'' Droemer / Knauer 1973rd *'' Poetry as editor of our mid-century'', Kösel Verlag 1965 (with interpretations of fox).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Walter Robert German science writers 1937 births 1976 deaths