January 31, 1632 Death of Joost Bürgi (1552-1632) in Kassel, Germany. A watchmaker, astronomer and mathematician, Bürgi invented logarithms, possibly as early as 1588 and had compiled his logarithmic tables by 1603. (The Scottish mathematician, John Napier, who is often credited with the invention in British histories, invented logarithms … [Read more...]

November 30, 1744 Birth of Karl Ludwig von Knebel near Nordlingen, Germany. Knebel was a poet and close friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It was Knebel who introduced Herzog Karl August to Goethe and arranged for Goethe to come to Weimar. November 30, 1760 Death of Caroline Neuber (born Friederike Caroline Weissenborn) in … [Read more...]

November 29, 1378 Death of Karl IV (King Wenceslas) in Prague, Bohemia. Karl raised Bohemia to a central power and after his rise to the rank of German King, Bohemia controlled that position for centuries. Karl was the son of the powerful John of Luxemburg. In 1343 Karl's father gave him the regency of Bohemia. In 1343 through Karl's efforts … [Read more...]

November 28, 1794 Death of Friedrich von Steuben in Remsen, New York (born in Magdeburg, Germany). Steuben was a Prussian officer who was induced by Benjamin Franklin to come to America on the side of the rebelling colonies. Arriving in 1777 he was placed in charge of the troops at Valley Forge. He retrained the forces and wrote a manual, … [Read more...]

November 27, 1680 Death of Athanasius Kirchner in Rome (born in Geisa, Germany). Kirchner studied in Fulda, Paderborn, Cologne and Koblenz. In 1628 he was ordained a Jesuit priest in Mainz. In 1634 he moved to Rome and took up the task of assembling and organizing information sent by Jesuit missionaries from all parts of the world. November … [Read more...]

November 26, 1885 Birth of Heinrich Brüning in Münster, Germany. Brüning, a member of the Catholic Center Party, became chancellor of the Weimar Republic in 1930. Although he was considered an economics expert, the world depression along with the reparation payments of the Versailles Treaty made economic stability in Germany impossible. … [Read more...]

November 25, 1844 Birth of Carl Benz in Karlsruhe, Germany. In 1885 he built the world's first working automobile powered by an internal combustion engine. He founded the motor company, Benz u. Co. in 1883. The first four wheeled cars began to be produced in 1893. Benz merged with the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1926. It was the Daimler-Benz … [Read more...]

November 24, 1828 Birth of Heinrich Lomb in Hesse-Kassel, Germany. Lomb immigrated to the United States in 1849 and found work as a cabinet maker. By 1854 he had befriended another immigrant from Germany, Johann Bausch, who operated an optical shop in Rochester, New York. In 1854 he loaned his friend, Bausch, $60 to use in growing his optical … [Read more...]

November 23, 912 Birth of Otto I in Germany. Otto became the German King in 936 and the Holy Roman Emperor in 962. He brought order to the empire, which was greatly fragmented, strengthened the position of the church, and made possible a period of prosperity and development of culture referred to as the "Ottonian Renaissance". November … [Read more...]

November 22, 1867 Birth of Wilhelm Groener in Ludwigsburg, Germany. In October 1918 he replaced General Erich Ludendorff as quartermaster general (Ludendorff had to resign to make armistice negotiations possible). He joined General Paul von Hindenburg in informing Kaiser Wilhelm that he no longer had the confidence of the army and should … [Read more...]