Richard Gradenwitz

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Richard Gradenwitz (born September 18, 1863 in Berlin , † January 22, 1925 in Baden-Baden ) was a German aviation pioneer , engineer and entrepreneur .

Life

Richard Gradenwitz, son of the banker Louis Gradenwitz , studied mechanical engineering at the TH Karlsruhe . There he became a member of the Germania fraternity (now Teutonia ). In 1887 he became a co-owner of a “machine and mechanical workshop” specializing in pressure gauges . Gradenwitz later became the sole owner, and the company expanded its range to include valves for Parseval airships , zeppelins and similar airships .

Gradenwitz was one of the founders and supervisory boards of Motorluftfahrt-Studiengesellschaft GmbH , Flugmaschinen Wright GmbH and the Luftfahrzeug-Gesellschaft .

After the decline of the German aviation industry after the First World War , Gradenwitz's company focused on railway construction and the automotive industry. He later took a stake in Knorr-Bremse GmbH and held 9% of the share capital of the resulting stock corporation .

When Gradenwitz died, his company was renamed Richard Gradenwitz GmbH , and his widow bequeathed part of his fortune to the Kaiser Wilhelm Society , which partially financed the establishment of the KWI for Cell Physiology (founding director Otto Warburg ). The newly built institute building was called "Richard-Gradenwitz-Bau" until 1973.

Associations and honors

Gradenwitz was a longstanding board member of the Berlin Association for Airship Travel . In 1907 he was co-founder and later president of the Imperial Aero Club . Richard Gradenwitz was drafted into the German Aviation Research Institute , and after his death was elected first chairman of the supervisory committee. He was also an honorary doctor .

literature

  • Lembke, Hans H .: The black sheep at the Gradenwitz and Kuczynski. 2008. ISBN 978-3-89626-728-3
  • Zeitschrift für Flugtechnik und Motorluftschiffahrt, Volume 16, 1925.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Georg Kirschner: Directory of Members of the Karlsruhe Burschenschaft Teutonia , 1966.
  2. ^ MPG archive: Richard-Gradenwitz-Bau p. 24
personal data
SURNAME Gradenwitz, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German aviation pioneer, engineer and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH January 22, 1925
Place of death Baden-Baden