Otto von Guericke
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries
- Categories: Science, Technology, Inventions
- Subcategories: Scientists, Inventors, Physics, Physicists
- Curriculum: German History, 17th Century European History
Article abstract: His experiments with electricity and, especially, air pressure make Guericke an important figure in the era of the scientific revolution.
Early Life
Otto von Guericke was the only son of Hans Guericke (or Gericke) and his second wife, Anna von Zweidorff. The elder Guericke was a prominent citizen and important city official of Magdeburg, who could afford to provide tutors for the elementary education of his son. In 1617, the fifteen-year-old Otto went to Leipzig and then, in 1620, to Helmstedt for studies that would prepare him for a...
[The entire page is 2104 words long]
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