Rudolf Sigismund Blochmann

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Rudolf Sigismund Blochmann
Memorial plaque on the Theaterplatz in Dresden
Blochmann's grave in the Trinitatisfriedhof in Dresden
Memorial stone from 1996 in his place of birth Reichstädt

Rudolf Sigismund Blochmann (born December 13, 1784 in Reichstädt , † May 21, 1871 in Dresden ) was a German engineer and entrepreneur. Blochmann is one of the pioneers of gas lighting in Germany.

Life

Blochmann was the son of a pastor and, together with his brothers Karl Justus and Heinrich August, was initially taught by a private tutor. In 1798 he began an apprenticeship with a Dresden mechanic and then went to Munich in 1806 to perfect his knowledge in the mechanical institute of Georg Friedrich von Reichenbach . Via von Reichenbach he also got to know Joseph von Fraunhofer , whose assistant Blochmann became in the optical workshop in Benediktbeuern . He also took over the management of a brewery and a tobacco factory and he built a marble cutting mill in Tegernsee on behalf of Reichenbach . In 1818 he returned to Dresden, where he became inspector of the Royal Mathematical and Physical Salon and the Kunstkammer . As a result, Blochmann developed a whole series of individual inventions, including apparatus for mineral water treatment , a machine for embossing rifle bullets , as well as another for adjusting coin plates and others.

But the question of gas lighting was at the center of his interest . After individual private individuals had already used hard coal gas for lighting purposes at the beginning of the century, gas lamps were first used for public street lighting in London in 1814. Blochmann was now committed to making this technology at home in Germany and not leaving it to the English competition. Blochmann had been using gas lighting in his mechanical institute since the end of 1819. City authorities, fearing the risk of explosion, initially reacted hesitantly to the new invention. Only the success of the English company Imperial Continental Gas Association , which founded gas works in Berlin and Hanover , led to a rethink. In 1828 Blochmann in Dresden created the first public gas company in Germany that worked independently from abroad. In the same year, in the neighboring village of Burgk, a gas generation plant based on local hard coal mining was put into operation and gas lighting was introduced. The first 36 lanterns were put up in April on the Schloßplatz and in front of the Zwinger . The technical management of this gas plant was in his hands until 1849. This was followed by the establishment of a gas works in Leipzig in 1837 and the creation of further gas works in Berlin, Breslau and Prague in the years from 1844. He also had a sewer system built for Dresden in 1851 .

Blochmann was one of the first professors at the Technical Educational Institute, founded in 1828, which is considered the forerunner of the TU Dresden and until 1833 had its seat in the Brühl garden pavilion . Blochmann retired in 1869. He passed the management of the Berlin gas works to his son Georg Moritz Sigismund . He died in Dresden in 1871 and was buried in the Trinitatisfriedhof . In 1920, Blochmannstrasse was named in his honor in Leipzig-Gohlis.

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personal data
SURNAME Blochmann, Rudolf Sigismund
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German engineer, pioneer of gas lighting
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1784
PLACE OF BIRTH Reichstädt near Dippoldiswalde
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 1871
Place of death Dresden