Carl Gassner
Carl Gassner (born November 17, 1855 in Mainz , † January 31, 1942 ) developed the dry cell battery in 1887 for series production.
Life
Even his father, Karl Josef Victor Abel Gassner, a doctor of medicine, was known in town for his idiosyncrasies. Carl studied medicine at the University of Strasbourg and then became a specialist in eye and ear disorders in Mainz. In addition, he carried out chemical and physical tests at Uhrmacher Balbach. He lived at Betzelsgasse 24 in Mainz.
In the 1880s, doorbells were still fed by wet Leclanché cells , which often dried out.
In 1885 Gassner used plaster of paris as a porous binder to which he added water-attracting chemicals.
On April 8, 1886 he was granted a patent in Germany and on November 15, 1887 in the USA . He received further patents in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France and England. His dry cell battery became famous in 1890 after the doorbell of a shop owner friend did not work and Gassner took remedial action. After that, one shopkeeper after another wanted one. When the Reichspostdirektion Erfurt ordered 100,000 batteries, he had to build a factory in Frankfurt. He is said to have earned several million gold marks with it.
In order to have peace again, he renounced all rights to the Frankfurt company and production was stopped.
He is buried in the main cemetery in Mainz .
Publications
- Concerning the tonic muscle spasms and epileptiform seizures occurring in dlatatio ventriculi ; Medicinal Faculty of Strasbourg in Alsace, 1878
Web links
- Carl Gassner in the Encyclopedia of Earth (English)
- Leclanche cell (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ US patent number 373,064 to Carl Gassner (English), accessed on April 7, 2011
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gassner, Carl |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur and inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 17, 1855 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mainz |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 31, 1942 |