Carl Bobe

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Carl Bobe (born September 23, 1878 in Oerlinghausen ; † February 5, 1947 in Bielefeld ) is considered to be the founder of the modern postal code system . Although the administration of the Thurn-und-Taxis-Post had already carried out (unsystematic) numerical location coding with the help of ring number stamps , he first presented a systematic structure of the postcodes in 1917.

Life

After attending school, Carl Bobe joined his parents' carpentry business. In the First World War he was drafted as a soldier ; due to his pacifist sentiments, he was imprisoned shortly afterwards.

After his release, before the end of the war, he did not return to his profession but published several writings, particularly for optimization of production processes . In 1917 he also specifically developed the organizational scheme for faster mail delivery . He also maintained contacts with Berlin DADA groups , such as Johannes Baader .

In the following years his main area of ​​interest was the optimization of traffic , especially the Reichsbahn ; He published a number of papers on this topic and some of them carried out sensational campaigns at the time. For example, he issued himself free travel tickets in order to burden himself with a voluntary disclosure afterwards .

He continued these actions also during the time of National Socialism , for which he initially felt a certain sympathy ; as a result, he was threatened with admission to a mental hospital , which ultimately did not materialize.

He died in 1947 as a result of a traffic accident when he wanted to cross the A 2 in what is now Bielefeld's Stieghorst district .

Postal code system

In 1917 he introduced his postal code system; its system is the adaptation of the Dewey Decimal Classification for the classification of library holdings on an organizational scheme for the systematic recording of cities and communities. Germany was hierarchically structured geographically and metropolitan areas, regional subdivisions and local areas were assigned the first three positions of the system.

For example, the "5" is in the first place for the western area of ​​Germany, the "55" for the greater Cologne area and "553" for the Bonn district. The length of the postcode can then be extended if necessary after further subdivision; this allows a flexible regional adjustment to changes.

The system was not used in this form at the time; postcodes were only introduced in Germany in 1941. Because of his theoretical explanations, which are reflected in a similar way in the structure of today's postcode systems in numerous countries, Carl Bobe is also known as the "inventor of the postcode".

The current system of postcodes in Germany still corresponds to this system in that the first digit designates a routing zone (first digit of the postcode), the first two digits a routing region and the five digits a routing area. The four-digit systems previously used were also based in principle on the suggestions made by Carl Bobe. In particular, however, the municipality code in Germany is structured analogously to this system; The state , administrative district , district or city and municipality are encrypted hierarchically in it .

literature

  • Werner Höltke: Free passage for Carl Bobe. The strange life of an Oerlinghausen resident. In: Der Minden-Ravensberger, 73rd year, 2001, pp. 105–110.
  • Werner Höltke: Free passage for Carl Bobe from Oerlinghauser. In: Alt-Oerlinghausen and its surroundings. Views and stories. Volume III. Verlag Kiper, 2005, pp. 63-72.
  • Karin Prignitz: Intelligent rascal. Carl Bobe invented the postal code system 90 years ago. In: Lippische Landes-Zeitung , 2007, No. 180.
  • Karin Prignitz: More than five digits. Oerlinghausener is considered to be the inventor of the postal code system, and the radio knows that too. in: Neue Westfälische , 196th year, 2006, no.164.

swell

  1. ^ Deutsche Post AG: Postal Code Book , 1993, p. 8.
  2. ^ City of Oerlinghausen: Oerlinghausen. History and stories . 1984, p. 135.
  3. ↑ Alex Kalevi Dieke, Sonja Schölermann: The importance of the postal code system in terms of competition policy. wik discussion contributions No. 276. Scientific Institute for Infrastructure and Communication Services, Bad Honnef 2006.
  4. ↑ Reinhold Kuhlmann: The new all-German postcode. (I) in: Postpraxis, Volume 43, No. 7/1992, pp. 146–155.
personal data
SURNAME Bobe, Carl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Founder of the postal code system
DATE OF BIRTH September 23, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Oerlinghausen
DATE OF DEATH February 5, 1947
Place of death Bielefeld