Philip Deidesheimer

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Support method developed by Philip Deidesheimer

Philip Deidesheimer (* 1832 in Darmstadt ; † July 21, 1916 in San Francisco ) was a German mining engineer who developed an advanced system for mine support .

Life

Deidesheimer was born to Jewish parents. At the age of 20 he was a graduate of the Freiberg Mining Academy , emigrated to the USA and, from 1851, gained nine years of mining experience in Eldorado County ( California ). In November 1860 he moved to Virginia City ( Nevada ). Here Deidesheimer was commissioned by the Ophir Company to develop a system that should make mining ore safer for miners; The Ophir Company was mining the Comstock Lode , a gold and silver mine that was the most important mine in the world at the time and whose mining methods influenced mining technology well into the 20th century.

The mining methods at the time were very dangerous for the miners here: In order to be able to remove the ore as quickly as possible, the ore-bearing layer was removed in wide trenches, which were in danger of collapsing. Simply cladding the trenches with wood was out of the question because of the geological conditions, as the ore was not deposited in a single vein , but rather spread like raisins in a cake in the ground. Deidesheimer finally developed a system of short, heavy wooden beams with which he formed cubic cavities; With the system it was possible to create tunnels of any size underground; it offered the miners the opportunity to develop the various ore veins without endangering their safety. Deidesheimer was inspired by the structures of honeycombs for this development .

Deidesheimer did not patent his invention , but made it available for free use. After developing the system, he was appointed superintendent of the Ophir Company for some time. In mid-1866 he moved to Montana, where he held a similar position with the St. Louis and Montana Mining Company . In 1868 he returned to Virginia City and in 1875 lost a lot of money in a stock market crash. He then moved to San Francisco at the age of 43. It was here that he traded in real estate and eventually lost all of his fortune in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . Deidesheimer finally passed away impoverished at the age of 84 in San Francisco.

Worth mentioning

  • The situation was the inspiration for an episode of the US series Bonanza in 1959 , in which Deidesheimer's origin - following the zeitgeist of the post-war era - was identified as "Dutch" (and not as German); the episode is originally called The Philip Deidesheimer Story .
  • The village of Philipsburg in the US state of Montana was named after Philip Deidesheimer .
  • Deidesheimer was inducted into the US National Mining Hall of Fame in 1988.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ronald James: Philipp Deidesheimer. In: ONE - Online Nevada Encyclopedia. Nevada Humanities, December 10, 2010, accessed July 24, 2013 .
  2. ↑ Ellen Braunstein: Philip Deidesheimer: Revolutionizing Mining. (PDF) In: BOSS - Connecting to industry. Dixon Valve & Coupling Company, 2006, pp. 18-23 , archived from the original on October 19, 2007 ; Retrieved on July 23, 2013 (English, picture by Philip Deidesheimer on p. 19).
  3. ^ Philipsburg, Montana. In: Philipsburg website. Chamber of Commerce Philipsburg, archived from the original on May 17, 2012 ; accessed on July 24, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Deidesheimer, Phillip. The National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum, Leadville, December 16, 2004, archived from the original on July 27, 2011 ; accessed on July 24, 2013 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Deidesheimer, Philip
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German mining engineer
DATE OF BIRTH 1832
PLACE OF BIRTH Darmstadt
DATE OF DEATH July 21, 1916
Place of death San Francisco