August Musger

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Bust of August Musger (Gallery of Honor, Graz Castle )

August Musger (born February 10, 1868 in Eisenerz (Styria) , † October 30, 1929 in Graz ) was an Austrian priest and physicist . He is considered a pioneer of film art and pioneer of slow motion technology .

His most famous student was Hanns Koren .

Live and act

August Musger was born in Eisenerz in 1868 as the son of a teacher . After attending elementary school (1874/79) in Kindberg , the talented pupil entered the Lichtenfels grammar school in 1879, but switched to the prince-bishop's boys' college in 1881 . Since the boys' seminar only led the lowest classes, August Musger then switched to the 1st kuk state high school in Graz . In 1887, Musger passed his school leaving examination with excellent results.

In 1890 the graduate of the theological faculty was ordained a priest and then worked as a chaplain in Preding . After two years of pastoral work, Musger began studying mathematics , physics and drawing in Graz . However, he continued to serve as prefect in the prince-bishop's seminary. After graduating, he became a teacher of mathematics, physics and free-hand drawing at the boys' college.

1893 joined Musger as Konkneipant the Catholic Fraternity Carolina Graz in ÖCV at. When, shortly before the turn of the century, cinematography began its global triumph beyond the capitals and also reached Musger, the teacher was enthusiastic about this new invention. However, he found the technology behind it to be immature and from 1904 began to research the field of film tape onward transport himself.

Patent specification of the mirror apparatus

By 1907 he had succeeded in developing a construction plan for a "series apparatus with a mirror wheel", the specialty and worldwide novelty of which was the ability to record in slow motion. He submitted the plans for a patent on December 3, 1904 . However, there were delays in the construction of a prototype, which ultimately led to Musger having to give up his patent in 1912 due to his financial situation. His patent rights therefore expired in 1914, which called for the Ernemann company , whose technician Hans Lehmann had been in correspondence with Musger for a long time, including about current development results. This presented a slow-motion machine to the public in 1914. The fact that this device was based on an invention by August Musger was never mentioned. In a letter to Musger, Lehmann openly referred to him as the inventor to whom he built on with his further developments, but this did not change the patent rights of the Ernemann company.

In spite of everything, Musger filed another patent in 1916 for his second invention, the “ cinematograph with optical compensation for image wandering ”. However, the poor economic situation in the post-war period prevented the construction and possible improvement of the model.

August Musger was also considered an excellent draftsman. Ludwig Stummer, who knew August Musger personally, remembered:

“He was a really great person, an artist of the portrait. He was a genius in his simplicity. "

On October 30, 1929, August Musger died impoverished at the age of 61 from a serious illness in the prince-bishop's college for boys in Graz. He is buried in the St. Leonhard Cemetery in Graz .

Honors

In 1953, Musgergasse in Vienna- Donaustadt (22nd district) was named after him. In Graz (III. Geidorf district ) and in Kindberg, one alley each bears his name, as does a square in the city center of his birthplace Eisenerz.

Furthermore, one of the two secondary schools in Kindberg , which is located in the aforementioned August-Musger-Gasse, has borne the name of the well-known priest and physicist since the school year 1980/81 and 1981/82. The boys ' secondary school, which was located in the basement of the building at that time, was renamed August-Musger-Hauptschule Kindberg and the girls' secondary school on the upper floor was renamed Jakob-Eduard-Schmölzer-Hauptschule Kindberg , based on the Austrian composer and folk song collector Jakob Eduard Schmölzer .

In the Graz Burggarten there is a bronze bust ( Gottfried Prabitz , 1959), in the Episcopal Gymnasium Graz (formerly Prince-Bishop's College for Boys ) a large memorial plaque on the first floor. A rotating bust of Musger in Eisenstadt fell over in its showcase in June / July 2018.

Musgers "cinematograph with optical compensation for image migration"

Cinematograph plan

The light is generated in the box R by means of an electric arc. This goes through the lenses and hits the film tape. The image is passed through the objective O onto the mirror wheel S and out of the apparatus. The film is moved via a gear in synchronous movement like the mirror wheel S, so that each image meets its own mirror. The film is wound from reel v to reel a. With the controller A you can determine the speed of the gear f. If the prism did not rotate, the image would move diagonally upwards. Because the prism rotates continuously at the same frequency, the movement of the film is balanced so that the image is always projected onto the same area of ​​the screen.

In August Musger's patent, the prism is referred to as a mirror wheel. You can also record with this method, you only have to exchange the lenses and for the photosensitive film you need a darkroom.

There is no longer a copy of Musger's “Series Apparatus with Mirror Wheel”. However, a model of the "Kinomatograph with optical compensation for image migration" is exhibited in the Technisches Museum Wien .

“Ten years later, Hans Lehmann found a practical use for the optical compensation according to Musger in the Ernemann slow motion that he created, the first technically usable cinematographic time expander ever. An expert report by the University of Vienna in 1977 attests to Musger's great inventive merit, particularly with regard to the scientific examination of the mode of operation of the mirror compensation, but makes it clear that he "can by no means be called the inventor of slow motion". "

literature

supporting documents

  • Kleine Zeitung, Graz, Saturday, November 3, 1979
  • Südost-Tagespost, Graz, Thursday, November 1st 1979

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Since 1893, the old man of the Carolina
    Source: P. Krause, "Achievement - Engagement - Responsibility", p. 14
  2. ↑ History section on the website of August-Musger-Hauptschule-Kindberg , accessed on February 15, 2011
  3. ↑ Hans Lehmann:  Musger, August. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 18, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-428-00199-0 , pp. 628-630 ( digitized version ).
personal data
SURNAME Musger, August
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian priest, physicist and inventor
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Iron ore (Styria)
DATE OF DEATH October 30, 1929
Place of death Graz