History of Science in Berlin

1600

Frederick William I Becomes Elector of Brandenburg

At the age of 20, Frederick William succeeds his father as the Elector of Brandenburg. The upswing in scientific activity in Berlin begins during his rule.

Photo: Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg

© Portrait by Govaert Flinck, 1652

Founding of the “Churfürstliche Bibliothek zu Cölln an der Spree”

The “Churfürstliche Bibliothek zu Cölln an der Spree” is founded to be the court library, though it is also open to the public. Though it has served many functions over the course of time, it is now the “Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preussischer Kulturbesitz” (“Berlin State Library and property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation”). It is Germany’s largest university library.

Photo: City Palace, birthplace of the Staatsbibliothek

© Album von Berlin, Globus Verlag, Berlin 1904

1700

Founding of the Kurfürstliche Brandenburgische Sozietät der Wissenschaften

The Kurfürstliche Brandenburgische Sozietät der Wissenschaften (Electoral Brandenburg Society of Sciences) is founded upon the advice of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716). In 1710, the academy’s statute is set, and a year later its opening is celebrated. In the late 20th century, it becomes known as the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities).

Photo: The Philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

© Herzog-Anton-Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig

From Plague Hospital to Charité

King Frederick I of Prussia has a plague hospital built right outside Berlin. After the plague spares the city, it serves a number of functions, including a charity hospital for the poor. In 1727, King Frederick William I of Prussia reappoints the plague hospital as a military convalescence center and hospital as well as a training facility for military physicians. Over time, the Königliche Charité-Krankenhaus („Royal Charité Hospital”) grows to become the largest university hospital in Europe.

Photo: Historical emblem of the old Charité

© Luisenstädter Bildungsverein e.V., Berlin 2000

1800

Teaching Begins at the University of Berlin

The University of Berlin (1828–1946 Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, since 1949 Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) launches its teaching activities. The founder of the “mother of all modern universities” is the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835). His brother, Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), was a trailblazer for natural science disciplines.

Photo: The official seal of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

© HU-Berlin

Opening of the new Berlin Observatory

The new Berlin Observatory is built by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841) for the Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Prussian Academy of Sciences) and opened in 1835. It remains in service until 1913. In 1846, Johann Gottfried Galle (1812–1910) discovers the planet Neptune from this observatory.

Photo: The Astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle

© public domain

The Brothers Grimm Move to Berlin

The brothers Jacob Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), who are also known as the Brothers Grimm, move to Berlin. The two linguists and collectors of fairy tales are both founders of German philology and language studies. Both of them teach at the University of Berlin for roughly 20 years.

Photo: Double portrait of the brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm

© The Museum of the Brothers Grimm, Kassel

1850

Invention of the Ophthalmoscope

Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894) invents the ophthalmoscope. Even today, eye doctors use a modified version of this examination device. Numerous other physics-related inventions and discoveries are attributed to the multifaceted natural scientist and polymath. Hermann von Helmholtz studied in Berlin, where he began working as a professor of physics in 1871.

Photo: The physiologist and physicist Hermann von Helmholtz

© Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Universitätsbibliothek

Founding of the Mechanisch-Technische Versuchsanstalt

The Prussian Ministry for Trade and Industry spearheads the founding of the Mechanisch-Technische Versuchsanstalt (MTV). The MTV is tasked with conducting general research related to scientific and public interests as well as performing strength tests. In 1956, the MTV becomes Germany’s Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM).

Photo: Adolf Martens (1850-1914), a former director of the MTV

© BAM

Founding of the Königlich Technische Hochschule (today’s Technische Universität Berlin)

The Königlich Technische Hochschule (Royal Technical College) based in Charlottenburg grew out of a merger of the Bauakademie (Building Academy) and the Gewerbeakademie (Vocational Academy). The founding of the university marks an important step and produces increasingly more engineers during the course of industrialization. In 1899, the Technische Universität Berlin becomes the first technical university in Germany to be granted the right to confer doctoral degrees.

Photo: An old postcard of the university’s main building

© TU Berlin

The First Electric Streetcar Goes into Service

The world’s first electric streetcar goes into service in Berlin’s Lichterfelde district. Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), the founder of what is today Siemens AG, invents it. At first, the streetcar receives its traction current from the rails because the overhead lines we have today have yet to be developed.

Photo: The first electrical streetcar, Lichterfelde

© Siemens press photo

Founding of Urania

The Berlin-based astronomers Wilhelm Foerster and Max Wilhelm Meyer jointly develop a plan for a new establishment that combines an observatory, scientific and technical exhibitions and a scientific theater, with the goal of providing scientific education to average citizens. The Urania, which takes its name from the muse of astrology, is financially supported by Berlin bankers and industrialists.

Photo: The Urania on Taubenstrasse (1905–1928)

© Archiv Urania Berlin e.V.

Max Planck Researches in Berlin

The physicist Max Planck (1858–1947), the founder of quantum theory and Nobel Prize laureate, accepts an offer to come to Berlin. Until retiring in 1926, he works there in a number of positions, including that of head of the University of Berlin in 1913/1914.

Photo: Stamp to commemorate the 150th birthday of Max Planck

© Deutsche Post AG, Design: Fiedler

Founding of the Robert Koch Institute

The Robert Koch Institute arises as a scientific division of the Royal Prussian Institute for Infectious Diseases. The institute derives its name from Robert Koch (1843–1910), a physician and microbiologist who was the institute’s first director. Koch, who discovered tuberculosis and cholera pathogens, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1905.

Photo: Stamp to commemorate the 50th birthday of Robert Koch

© Deutsche Post AG, Design: Gerhardt

Otto Lilienthal Flies 25 Meters

Using a glider that carries him 25 meters, Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896) becomes the first human to fly. His test flights – which he conducts in a number of locations, including Berlin’s Lichterfelde district and near Potsdam – lay the ground stone for the development of modern aviation. The Wright brothers developed Lilienthal’s aviation principles even further, thereby allowing motorized flight to become possible.

Photo: Lilienthal in flight, Lichterfelde

© F0082, Otto Lilienthal Museum, Anklam

Elsa Neumann Becomes First Woman to Receive Doctoral Degree in Berlin

Women were not allowed to study at Prussian universities, so it was only with the permission of her professors that the physicist Elsa Neumann (1892–1902) was allowed to do so. The young woman was able to win the support of Max Planck (1858–1947) and, with the special permission of the Ministry of Culture, to become the first woman to receive a doctoral degree at the University of Berlin.

Photo: Elsa Neumann receives her Ph.D. at HU Berlin 1899

© Sketch by E. Thiel

1900

Invention of the X-Ray Tube

The glass engineer Reinhold Burger (1866–1954) jointly develops the X-Ray tube with Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923). Burger had been developing tubes for Röntgen to experiment with already since 1900. Reinhold Burger also co-develops other medical devices, including the thermos, which he invents in 1903.

Photo: Berlin commemorative plaque at the house Burger lived at in Pankow

© Doris Antony

Completion of the Botanical Garden

The new Botanical Gardens is opened to the public for the first time. The fact that the plant collection of the Royal Botanical Museum keeps growing makes it necessary to move it from Berlin’s Schöneberg district to Dahlem. With an area of 43 hectares (106 acres) holding 22,000 plants, Berlin’s Botanical Garden is the third largest of its kind in the world.

Photo: The greenhouses of the Botanical Garden, 1909

© Horn & Rasch, Berlin 1909

Founding of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society

Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930) is one of the main people behind the opening of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society (KWG), whose aim is to support the sciences. For many years, the KWG supports a series of non-university institutions, where scientists primarily focus their activities on basic research. Beginning in 1948, the Göttingen-based Max Planck Society gradually absorbs the functions of the KWG.

Photo: Inauguration of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Dahlem by Kaiser Wilhelm (center) and Adolf von Harnack (left)

© Deutsches Bundesarchiv, Image 183-R15350

Development of the Franck-Hertz Experiment

Gustav Hertz (1887–1975) and James Franck (1882–1964) jointly develop the Franck-Hertz experiment at the University of Berlin’s Institute for Physics. With this experiment, the researchers show that atoms can only absorb and be excited by specific amounts of energy, thereby supporting Niels Bohr’s model of the atom. For their contribution to the further development of quantum mechanics, Franck and Hertz are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1925.

Photo: The Nobel Prize-winning physicist Gustav Hertz

© TU Berlin

Albert Einstein’s Move to Berlin

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) moves to Berlin to work at the Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Prussian Academy of Sciences). Here, Einstein finalizes his General Theory of Relativity, which he publishes in 1916. The following year, Einstein becomes director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, one of the institutions that serves as a precursor to what later becomes the Max Planck Society. In 1921, Einstein is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on explaining the photoelectric effect.

Photo: Einstein in 1930 at the 7th Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin

© IFA

First Institute for Sexology

In his 1907 book “The Sexual Life of Our Time", Iwan Bloch (1872–1922) introduces the study of sexuality. In the book’s preface, he defines this as a multidisciplinary area of study. Twelve years later, Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935) opens the first Institute for Sexual Research. The National Socialists dissolve this private establishment in 1933.

Photo: The physician and sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld

© Magnus Hirschfeld Society

Ernst Ruska Invents the Electron Microscope

While working at Berlin’s Technische Hochschule, Ernst Ruska (1906–1988) succeeds in using magnetic lenses to achieve the first two-phase electro-optic magnification, thereby implementing the basic technical principle of the electron microscope. Two years later, he uses a second prototype to surpass the resolution limits of light. Together with Bodo von Borries (1905–1956), Ruska further develops the electron microscope, allowing it to go into serial production in 1938.

Photo: Ruska (right) adjusting an electron microscope

© TU Berlin

Hans Geiger Becomes Director of the Institute for Physics

Hans Geiger (1882–1945), the inventor of the Geiger counter, first comes to Berlin in 1912. At the Technische Reichsanstalt, he sets up his laboratory to study radioactivity and develops testing and calibration methods tailored for radioactive substances. In 1936, Geiger becomes director of the Technische Hochschule’s Institute for Physics.

Photo: Physicist Johannes (Hans) Wilhelm Geiger

© TU Berlin

Emergence of the First Computer

In his apartment in Kreuzberg, Konrad Zuse (1910–1995) develops the Z3, a device based on a system of binary numbers, which is now considered to be the world’s first computer. The programmable Z3 develops out of the fully mechanical Z1 and the intermediate Z2 model. Zuse presents the Z3 before a group of scientists in 1941.

Photo: Entrepreneur and computer pioneer Konrad Zuse

© Mathias Knauer

Founding of the Freie Universität Berlin (FU)

When three students are not allowed to study at the Universität Unter den Linden in the sector of Berlin occupied by the Soviets, protests break out in the western part of the city. A proportion of the students at the University of Berlin breaks away from it and founds the Freie Universität Berlin with help from the United States of America.

Photo: John F. Kennedy during a speech delivered at the FU in 1963

© Archive of FU Berlin

1950

A New Institute for Aerospace Research

The Deutsche Forschungs- und Versuchsanstalt für Luft- and Raumfahrt (German Test and Research Institute for Aviation and Space Flight) is born from the merger of various establishments, including the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt, which has been based in Berlin-Adlershof since 1912. This goes on to become the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 1997.

Photo: Logo of the German Aerospace Center

© DLR

Founding of the Social Science Research Center Berlin

Starting in 1902, the University of Fine Arts and the University of Music and Performing Arts stood directly next to each other in a building complex still in use today at the corner of Hardenbergstrasse and Fasanenstrasse in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg. In 1975, these two institutions joined to create the Hochschule der Künste Berlin, which changed its name to the Universität der Künste Berlin (Berlin University of the Arts) in 2001.

Photo: The UdK on Hardenbergstraße

© Berlin Partner GmbH, Scholvien

The Birth of Berlin’s University of the Arts (UdK)

Starting in 1902, the University of Fine Arts and the University of Music and Performing Arts stood directly next to each other in a building complex still in use today at the corner of Hardenbergstrasse and Fasanenstrasse in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg. In 1975, these two institutions joined to create the Hochschule der Künste Berlin, which changed its name to the Universität der Künste Berlin (Berlin University of the Arts) in 2001.

Photo: The UdK on Hardenbergstraße

© Berlin Partner GmbH, Scholvien

Founding of the German Heart Institute Berlin

On January 1, 1986, the German Heart Institute Berlin (DHZB) begins operations with three clinics (Department of Cardiothoratic and Vascular Surgery, Department of Internal Medicine/Cardiology, Department of Anesthesiology) on the grounds of Berlin’s Rudolf Virchow Hospital.

Photo: The logo of the German Heart Institute Berlin

© DHZB

Emergence of Adlershof and Buch Science Parks

The science and business park known as Berlin-Adlershof continues to grow on 420 hectares of land in southern Berlin. It is home to many companies and institutes, including the Berlin Electron Storage Ring Society for Synchrotron Radiation (BESSY), which is today known as the Helmholtz Center for Materials and Energy. Yet another key location is Berlin-Buch in northern Berlin, a center for biotechnology that houses, among many others, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine.

Photo: The Center for Photonics at Adlershof

© Berlin Partner, FTB-Werbefotografie

2000

First Photos from the Planet Mars

The high-resolution stereo camera HRSC on board the ESA’s Mars Express takes the first pictures of the planet mars. Especially spectacular: for the first time, we are able to see Mars’ two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, in an image sequence. Professor Gerhard Neukum (*1944) from the Freie Universität Berlin is the director of the project.

Photo: The Stereo Camera HRSC

© DLR

Berlin Universities Acknowledged by the Excellence Initiative

As part of the joint federal and state “Excellence Initiative,” three Berlin universities are awarded additional funding for the promotion of “Excellence Clusters” and graduate programs. The Freie Universität Berlin is also able to impress the jury with their future-oriented concept centered on the “International Network University.” The FU is one of nine universities in Germany set to receive a total of €210 million in annual funding.

Photo: Students at the Freie Universität Berlin

© FU Berlin, David Ausserhofer

Nobel Prize in Chemistry for Gerhard Ertl

Physicist Gerhard Ertl (*1936) from the Fritz Haber Institute at Berlin’s Max Planck Society receives the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in the field of surface science. Ertl was able to elucidate in detail fundamental chemical processes on solid surfaces. Among other things, surface chemistry is important for the creation of catalytic reactions.

Photo: Gerhard Ertl, Nobel Prize Winner for Chemistry

© TU Berlin, Ulrich Dahl

Berlin Celebrates Major Anniversaries with a Year of Science

Berlin’s science community celebrates the major anniversaries of five of its most renowned institutions with an official “Year of Science". Among the anniversaries of this year are the founding of the Staatsbibliothek 350 years ago, the Charité 300 years ago and the Humboldt-Universität 200 years ago. The city also celebrates the founding of what would become the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften 300 years ago and the creation of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft, which would go on to become the Max Planck Society, 100 years ago.

Foto: Logo Berlin – Capital of Sciences

© Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH