Otto Tegetmeyer

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Otto Tegetmeyer (born July 20, 1875 in Leipzig , † August 21, 1960 in Braunschweig ) was a German instrument maker .

The son of a well-known Leipzig xylograph completed an apprenticeship as a precision mechanic . He specialized in the manufacture of geodetic instruments and circle division machines .

In March 1898 he joined Oskar Günther's workshop in Braunschweig. According to his own admission, he recognized the entrepreneurial opportunities that opened up in the rapid developments in the field of radioactivity , research developments in the field of atmospheric electricity and photoelectric photometry .

Günther & Tegetmeyer oHG

Immediately after Tegetmeyer had passed his master craftsman examination, both founded the Günther & Tegetmeyer company for scientific instrument making in April 1901. Various types of electrometers , apparatus for determining the radioactivity of air, water and soil samples, photometers and apparatus for observing atmospheric electricity were manufactured.

Günther & Tegetmeyer were represented with products at world exhibitions for Germany twice , in 1904 in St. Louis and in 1910 in Brussels . You returned from each of these exhibitions with an award. In the specialist literature there are numerous representations of research projects in which reference is made to the use of equipment from the Braunschweig workshop. For example, discovered Victor Franz Hess the cosmic rays with a manufactured at Günther & Tegetmeyer instrument; Carl Dorno researched UV-B radiation with photometers from Günther & Tegetmeyer. In the Deutsches Museum in Munich , instruments by Günther & Tegetmeyer are presented as "milestones in research and technology".

Oskar Günther died in 1933. Otto Tegetmeyer continued to run the company with sole responsibility. Despite the most difficult conditions, he managed to maintain the company's important position. On the night of October 15, 1944, the factory building was destroyed by a bomb hit during the heaviest bombing raid on Braunschweig . Otto Tegetmeyer built a new production facility in the basement of a school. Towards the end of 1949 Tegetmeyer entered into a cooperation with the Braunschweig branch of Hartmann & Braun.

In 1951 Günther & Tegetmeyer celebrated the 50th company anniversary. For his personal commitment in the Chamber of Crafts - he was a member of the examination committee for several years - Otto Tegetmeyer was appointed honorary master. A year later he gave up the management of the company. In 1953 Günther & Tegetmeyer GmbH became a subsidiary of Hartmann & Braun AG. In 1958 the company was deleted from the commercial register.

literature

  • Rudolf GA Fricke: Günther & Tegetmeyer 1901-1958 - Instruments for science from Braunschweig . AF-Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-00-035204-1

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Photo of a single-thread electrometer from 1911
  2. ↑ Company history of Hartmann & Braun AG, which Günther & Tegetmeyer took over in 1953 ( Memento from February 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Tegetmeyer, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German instrument maker
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Leipzig
DATE OF DEATH August 21, 1960
Place of death Braunschweig