Walter Porstmann

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Walter Porstmann (born March 8, 1886 in Geyersdorf ; † June 24, 1959 in Berlin ) was a German engineer , mathematician and standardization theorist. He is the founder of the German paper format standard.

Life

Walter Porstmann studied at the Universities of Erlangen , Kiel and Leipzig and passed the state examination in mathematics , physics and applied mathematics . From 1912 to 1914 he was assistant of Nobel laureate Wilhelm Ostwald . Ostwald was chairman of the "Brücke - International Institute for the Organization of Intellectual Work" and had developed paper sizes with the aspect ratio , the world format .

In 1915 Porstmann worked as a technical writer and, after being drafted into World War I, worked as a meteorologist on the Western Front. In 1917 he published his book Norms Theory , which caught the attention of Waldemar Hellmich , the first managing director of the German Institute for Standardization (DIN). In 1918 he wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject of investigations into the structure and combination of measurement systems . In the following years he worked in the Hinz factory in Berlin-Mariendorf and passed the doctoral examination in the subjects of functional theory , thermodynamics and meteorology.

In 1920 Porstmann became an employee of the standards committee of German industry founded in 1917 , the forerunner of the German Institute for Standardization . On August 18, 1922, this published DIN 476 “Paper Formats”. Porstmann had combined the world format with the metric area measure: the DIN A0 format has an area of ​​one square meter. He added the slightly larger B series for envelopes to the format .

The public sector was in the lead when the new standard was put into practice. Shortly after publication in August 1922, the Wunsiedel district office was the first authority to convert its paper formats to the A series. In 1923, Porstmann became managing director of Fabriknorm GmbH , which manufactured related items from filing boxes to letter folders.

Walter Porstmann advocated lower case letters in Germany, among other things for economic reasons. He also devised a concept of a new, purely phonetic alphabet .

In 1944 Walter Porstmann was awarded the DIN ring of honor. He has authored 16 books, hundreds of essays, reports, and book reviews.

Grave at the Lankwitz cemetery (Lage)

Porstmann is buried in the Lankwitz cemetery in Berlin (C III-300). In 1987 the burial site was recognized by the Berlin Senate Chancellery as an honorary grave , but was not extended in 2009.

In 1975 the international standard ISO 216 was published, developed from DIN 476. The A4 format - with this name - has established itself worldwide; only the USA and Canada continue to adhere to inch sizes for paper sizes .

Publications

  • Norms (1917)
  • Structure and merging of the measurement systems (dissertation, 1918)
  • Language and Writing (1920)

literature

  • Markus Krajewski: Completion - World Projects around 1900 . Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2006, ISBN 3-596-16779-5 , in particular pp. 64-140

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Porstmann, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION engineer
DATE OF BIRTH March 8, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Geyersdorf
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1959
Place of death Berlin