Franz Kurtz

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Franz Kurtz (born July 10, 1825 in Pier (Inden) , † 1902 in Jülich ) was a German inventor . He invented a mechanically operated tricycle .

Life

Kurtz's parents ran a forge in Pier . Son Franz thus also learned the blacksmith's trade. He also learned the wheelwright trade in Jülich . There he later went into business for himself. In Jülich he also invented the crank drive . In 1847 he drove through the city with his “Tretomobil”. The tricycle had a cranked shaft between the rear wheels. The vehicle was set in motion by two “pedal plates”.

He also made long journeys with the tricycle, e.g. B. to Cologne and to Aachen for the sanctuary tour . Those were very long distances for the time.

The "Patent and Technical Office M. Brandt" in Berlin issued a declaration of honor for Kurtz in 1867, according to which it was not Pierre Michaux but Kurtz who invented the first mechanical drive.

Since there was no patent protection at that time, the inventor remained unknown beyond his home region.

At the world exhibition in Antwerp in 1895, a large sign in the bicycles department announced “The first self-employed driver was the wheelwright Franz Kurtz in Jülich”. Kurtz's bicycle came to the Jülich local history museum, where it was irretrievably burned in the air raid on November 16, 1944. Today there is a replica in the museum in Jülich.

Cranked tricycle by B. Smythe, Liverpool 1819

This was a typical case of ignorance of the technical history of the bicycle, which has only been critically researched for two decades. As early as 1814, Karl Drais' four-wheeled driving machine two had a cranked rear axle, or more precisely a shaft, in the bends of which people were kicked with their feet. After his two-wheeler invention in 1817, many mechanics returned to the stable three- or four-wheeler because of the fear of balancing of contemporaries. In England in 1819 there was a ladies' tricycle "Pilentum" with hand drive or the three-wheel "Facilitator" by geometer B. Smythe with foot drive via a cranked countershaft. In view of this, one can no longer speak of Franz Kurtz's priority.

literature

  • Helmut Scheuer: Franz Kurtz - the inventor of the first mechanically operated bicycle . In: Yearbook of the Düren District 1994 , published by the Düren District 1994
  • Hans-Erhard Lessing: Automobility - Karl Drais and the incredible beginnings . Maxime-Verlag, Leipzig 2003