Max Paul Neumann

Max Paul Neumann (born November 10, 1874 in Ortelsburg ( East Prussia ), † May 23, 1937 in Berlin ) was a German agricultural scientist . As director of the research institute for grain processing in Berlin for many years , he played a decisive role in the technological development of the bakery industry in Germany.

Live and act

After graduating, Max Paul Neumann completed his apprenticeship as a pharmacist and from 1900 studied natural sciences with a focus on chemistry in Berlin, Halle , Greifswald and most recently in Leipzig , where he received his doctorate in 1906 with a dissertation on aldehyde reactions. From 1907 to 1934 he was director of the research institute for grain processing in Berlin. As an honorary professor , held lectures on agricultural technology at the Agricultural University in Berlin . A long-term suffering from asthma forced him to retire early in 1934 at the age of 60.

Neumann worked experimentally in laboratories and through large-scale tests in practice in almost all areas of grain technology. This included research on the quality characteristics of the grain, the standardization of grain types and the processing properties of commercial flours. The focus of his scientific work, however, was on the bakery area. He gained international recognition for his studies on the baking ability of flours. He recognized the extremely complex nature of the term baking ability at an early stage and developed test methods for this central baking property of cereal flours.

In addition to research and teaching, Neumann's tasks included advising authorities and business associations. In the years of the First World War in particular, he exerted influence on numerous laws and ordinances in the war economy and, through technical advice, played a decisive role in the provision of bread to the civilian population. He has summarized his experiences and findings from this time in the book Our War Bread , published in 1917 , with a wealth of facts about the complete use of grain for human consumption.

The publication sliste von Neumann comprises 127 scientific publications and an even larger number of practice-oriented articles. His main work is the extensive teaching and manual bread grain and bread . Three editions appeared during Neumann's lifetime (1914, 1923 and 1929); his successor in office Paul Friedrich Pelshenke published a fourth edition in 1943 and a fifth in 1954.

Neumann was an honorary member in several professional associations, including since 1936 in the International Association of Bread Manufacturers. In 1948 a Max Paul Neumann Prize was donated for outstanding achievements in the field of grain technology. Since 1954, the Detmold Working Group for Grain Research has awarded the Max Paul Neumann Medal to honored grain chemists.

Neumann became a member of the Corps Neoborussia Berlin in 1923 .

Publications (selection)

• To know the aldehyde reactions . Diss. Phil. Univ. Leipzig 1906.
• The research institute for grain processing . Edited by Johannes Buchwald and Max Paul Neumann. Berlin 1911 = magazine for the entire grain industry, born in 1911, supplementary volume.
• Bread cereals and bread. Textbook for the practice of grain processing and manual and auxiliary book for experimental stations, food inspection offices and laboratories of mills, bakeries and technical schools . Publisher Paul Parey Berlin 1914; 2nd edition, ibid. 1923; 3rd edition, ibid. 1929. - 4th edition, revised by Paul Pelshenke, ibid. 1943; 5th edition under the name Neumann-Pelshenke with changed title Bread Grains and Bread. Handbook for the theory and practice of bread grain processing , ibid. 1954.
• Our bread of war . Publishing house Ollech Berlin 1917.
• About the influence of the variety and the growth conditions on the baking ability of wheat . In: Landwirtschaftliche Jahrbücher Vol. 74, 1931, pp. 181–317.

literature

• Prof. Neumann † . In: flour and bread. 37, 1937, No. 22, pp. 1-2; No. 25, pp. 15-16; u. No. 26, pp. 15–16 (with picture and list of scriptures).
• PF Pelshenke: MP Neumann in memoriam . In: bread and pastries. 9. 1955, no. 2, pp. 17-19 (with picture).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kösener Corpslisten 1930, 6 , 185.