Conrad Matschoss

Conrad Matschoss

Conrad Matschoss (born June 9, 1871 in Neutomischel , Province of Posen ; † March 21, 1942 in Berlin , last name also Matschoss spelled out) was a German engineer , university professor , technology historian , publicist and director of the Association of German Engineers (VDI).

He dealt intensively with German cultural history , in particular the history of industry and technology , and initiated the introduction of the history of technology as a scientific discipline and subject . He was the founder and editor of the yearbook Contributions to the History of Technology and Industry , which appeared from 1909 to 1941.

Life

Conrad Matschoss was the third of seven children of the Lutheran pastor Heinrich Hermann Matschoss (born May 20, 1844 in Schwarmitz, † April 6, 1920 in Bunzlau ). After graduating from high school in 1890, he decided against studying theology and enrolled in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Hanover .

After a brief teaching activity in Cologne, he published the work The History of the Steam Engine in 1901 , in which he discussed its development and significance for society. The fact that this developmental work was written by an engineer and not by a historian attracted attention. Likewise his idea to understand the history of technology as an independent subject. From then on, Matschoß was supported by the Association of German Engineers , which appointed him director in 1916.

From 1909 Conrad Matschoß had a teaching position at the Technical University (Berlin-) Charlottenburg . He taught for almost 30 years, from 1929 as an honorary professor . During this time he published, among other things, A Century of German Mechanical Engineering from the Mechanical Workshop to the German Machine Factory 1819-1919 , Prussia's Business Promotion and Their Great Men and Life Descriptions in Men of Technology and Great Engineers . Furthermore, he documented technical cultural monuments and wrote numerous commemorative publications on company anniversaries of industrial companies, or birthdays of engineers, company founders or industrialists such as Max Eyth , August Thyssen , Werner Siemens , Robert Bosch , Gottlieb Daimler and others.

tomb

Matschoss' position after 1933 is now considered ambivalent. He did not join the NSDAP, nor did he share their racial madness, and he also kept his books free from Nazi ideology. Nevertheless, he was only able to avoid being used by the Nazis to a limited extent. He died on March 21, 1942 at the age of 70 and was buried in the Südwestkirchhof Stahnsdorf near Berlin .

For the first time in 1956 and 1962 the Conrad Matschoss Prize for the History of Technology, revived in 2006, was awarded by the VDI. It has been awarded € 4,000 since 2020, previously € 3,000, and is to be awarded for achievements in the scientific as well as popular scientific representation of technology in connection with society, the environment and science.

In 1942 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

Fonts (selection)

• 1901: The history of the steam engine: its cultural significance, technical development and its great men . Berlin 1901; Reprint: Dr. HA Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1978, ISBN 3-806-70720-0
• 1907: 50 years of engineering work in Upper Silesia. A memorial to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Upper Silesian District Association of German Engineers. Edited on behalf of the association and with the cooperation of its members . Springer, Berlin 1907
• 1908: The development of the steam engine. A history of the stationary steam engine and the locomobile, the ship engine and the locomotive . Springer, Berlin 1908; Reprint: VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1987
• 1910: History of the Sulzer brothers in Winterthur and Ludwigshafen a. Rh.Springer , Berlin 1910
• 1912: Frederick the Great as a promoter of industry. Written for the 200th anniversary of Frederick the Great's birthday on behalf of the Association for the Promotion of Industry . Published by Leonhard Simion, Berlin 1912
• 1912: The R. Wolf Magdeburg-Buckau machine factory 1862–1912, the life story of the founder, the development of the works and their current status . Magdeburg 1912
• 1919: A century of German mechanical engineering from the mechanical workshop to the German machine factory 1819–1919 . Springer, Berlin 1919, several reprints.
• 1921: Prussia's promotion of trade and its great men. Shown in the context of the history of the association for the promotion of industrial diligence. 1821-1921 . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1921
• 1921: History of the Deutz gas engine factory. In memory of 50 years of work . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1921
• 1921: August Thyssen and his work. To commemorate the establishment of the first work on April 1, 1871 . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1921
• 1925: men of technology. A biographical manual . 1925; Reprint: VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1985
• 1925: The German Museum. History - tasks - goals , processing Conrad Matschoss, with the participation of outstanding representatives of technology and natural sciences, VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1925
• 1925: Werner Siemens. A brief picture of his life together with a selection of his letters. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birthday . Springer, Berlin 1925
• 1930: Ludw. Loewe & Co Actiengesellschaft Berlin 1869–1929. The story of Ludw. Loewe & Co. Actiengesellschaft Berlin. 60 years of noble work 1869 to 1929 . Society for electrical companies, Berlin 1930
• 1931: Robert Bosch and his work . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1931
• 1932: Technical cultural monuments with the collaboration of August Hertwig , Hans von und zu Loewenstein, Otto Petersen and Carl Schiffner. Edited by Werner Lindner on behalf of the Agricola Society at the Deutsches Museum, F. Bruckmann Verlag, Munich 1932
• 1934: 50 years of the Berlin Electricity Works, 1884–1934 . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1934
• 1934: Gottlieb Daimler in the history of the motor vehicle. For the 100th anniversary of his birthday on March 17, 1934 . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1934
• 1935: On Becoming the Wanderer Works. 50 years of workmanship. 1885-1935 . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1935
• 1936: Frederick the Great in his peace work. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his death on August 17, 1936 . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1936
• 1936: Max Eyth on the hundredth birthday. Agricultural technology in Germany . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1936
• 1937: Great engineers, biography from the history of technology . JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1937; Reprinted several times.
• 1939: Julius Robert Mayer . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1939
• 1940: history of the gear. Along with comments on the development of the interlocking by Karl Kurtzbach . VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1940; Reprint: Dr. HA Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1976.

literature

• Wolfgang König :  Matschoß, Conrad. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 16, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-428-00197-4 , pp. 385-387 ( digitized version ).
• Helmut Lackner: Conrad Matschoß (1871–1942) . In: Technikgeschichte, Vol. 76 (2009), H. 4, pp. 325-332.

Web links

Wikisource: Conrad Matschoß  - sources and full texts

• Literature by and about Conrad Matschoss in the catalog of the German National Library
• Newspaper article about Conrad Matschoss in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
• The Conrad Matschoß Prize for the history of technology on the VDI website ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Die kleine Enzyklopädie , Encyclios-Verlag, Zurich, 1950, Volume 2, p. 131
2. ↑ Article on DenkmalDebatten zu Matschoß as a pioneer in the recording of technical monuments  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.