Jakob Degen (inventor)

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Degen's ornithopter from 1812 consisted of two rigidly connected, heart-shaped wings that were moved up and down in a straight line by muscle power
a coaxial helicopter model of his in the helicopter museum Bückeburg , which he built in 1817 and presented to the public in the Vienna Prater. For the drive he used a clock mechanism built into a metal sleeve. The crash was prevented by a small parachute (clearly visible in the picture), which opened automatically when the clockwork ran down.
Memorial plaque on the house where Jakob Degen was born in Liedertswil

Jakob Degen (* probably February 27, 1760 in Liedertswil , Switzerland ; † August 28, 1848 in Vienna ) was a Swiss- Austrian inventor and aviation pioneer. The year of birth is also given as 1756 and 1761.

Life

Jakob Degen moved to Vienna with his father in 1766 or 1770 . Originally he was a ribbon weaver , his father was a foreman in a ribbon factory. Jakob learned the watchmaking trade from 1778 , in which he became a master in 1792. In 1807 he constructed a flying machine there that was equipped with movable wings that were powered by muscle power (swing wing aircraft; flapping wing aircraft). In 1808, he provided the aircraft with an auxiliary balloon filled with hydrogen, which generated around half of the lift required for flying. Probably already in 1807 he succeeded in the first controlled free flight, which was repeated in May 1808:

“The skilled local watchmaker Degen recently showed with great success in the local riding house that he has since perfected the art he invented and successfully tried last year to fly through the air like a bird without a balloon. Two particularly artificial wings are attached to his body, which consist of small pieces of paper put together with the finest silk. By swinging these wings, it rises quickly and easily from the earth in both a vertical and an oblique line to a height of 54 feet. It was a surprising sight, which elicited an involuntary exclamation of joy from the numerous people present as this brave German artist rose from the ground to the ceiling of the building, and then flew high and low in different directions. When flying in an oblique direction, he currently needs a special device, a counterweight, but which only has a pulling force of 40 pounds, so that consequently he weighs 140 pounds himself, while his wings still lift a load of 100 pounds. He has not yet brought his art to perfection, but he hopes to give it to her soon; however, it already has the great advantage over all aerostats that the direction of flight depends entirely on it, if obstacles do not appear in the open. "

In November 1808 Degen held another free flight in front of the public over the Vienna Prater. On September 10, 1810, he flew four hours in different directions during an official demonstration in front of the Austrian imperial couple and large company in front of Laxenburg Palace. In 1812 and 1813 he publicly demonstrated the aircraft in Paris, several flights were successful, the last to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Napoleon. According to a contemporary report, this flight took off from a ship on the Seine, the plane is said to have reached a height of 900 fathoms (approx. 1600 m) and flown along the Seine.

His skills as a watchmaker served him well when he in 1816 a propeller with clockwork constructed. This world's first (unmanned) helicopter model reached a height of 160 meters in the Vienna Prater in 1816 . His other inventions are a machine for cutting clock wheels, a Languette for ribbon weaving (weaving technology) and a new type of anemometer (1810).

In the years 1816 to 1820 he invented a forgery-proof process for double-sided and multiple printing of banknotes , a so-called "guilloche engraving" or " guilloche device ". It made the printing of intricate, wavy line patterns ( guilloches ) possible. This invention is still the basis of banknote and security printing in many countries today. From 1825 to 1841 he was head of the mechanical workshops of the Austrian National Bank .

In Vienna Technical Museum, some are of Degen's original models. In the Vienna Clock Museum you can find a stock clock with a pendulum in the shape of the flying clockmaker Jakob Degen .

literature

Web links

Commons : Jakob Degen (Inventor)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ See Augsburgische Ordinari Postzeitung, Nro. 118, Tuesday May 17th. Anno 1808, p. 1. “Riding house” means the Spanish Riding School . 54 Viennese feet correspond to approx. 17 meters.
  2. ↑ Clock Museum of the City of Vienna , accessed on February 6, 2010.
personal data
SURNAME Sword, Jacob
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss-Austrian watchmaker, inventor and aviation pioneer
DATE OF BIRTH February 27, 1760
PLACE OF BIRTH Liedertswil , Switzerland
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 1848
Place of death Vienna