German Contributions To The World

No doubt, Germany has brought two major conflicts to the world and that damage will take generations to repair. However, let us not also reflect on the good Germans have brought to us all. This list serves as a counter balance for my children to know that their ancestry has brought immense value to the modern world and to be proud of their heritage, despite the WW1 WW2 horrors.

Gas Engines - 1863

Nicolaus August Otto (Auto, get it?) was a German engineer who successfully developed the compressed charge internal combustion engine which ran on petroleum gas and led to the modern internal combustion engine.

Printing Press - 1468

Johannes Gutenberg, a German craftsman, and inventor who originated a method of printing from movable type. The “Gutenberg Press”.

Telephones - 1861

NOT MARCONI, but Philipp Reis succeeded in creating a device that captured sound, converted it to electrical impulses which were transmitted via electrical wires to another device that transformed these pulses into recognizable sounds similar to the original acoustical source. Reis coined the term telephon to describe his device.

Refrigerators - 1871

Carl von Linde published an essay on improved refrigeration techniques and 2 years later in Munich he built the first practical and portable compressor refrigeration machine.