Václav Prokop Diviš

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Family house of Prokop Diviš, lightning rod on the right.
Family house of Prokop Diviš, lightning rod on the right.

Václav Prokop Diviš (pronounced [ˈvaːtslaf ˈprokop ˈɟɪvɪʃ][1] 26 March, 1698 – 25 December, 1765) was a Czech theologian and natural scientist.

Diviš was born in Helvíkovice near Žamberk, Bohemia. Between 1750 and 1754, he invented a lightning rod independently of Benjamin Franklin's invention in 1753,[2] and constructed the first electrified musical instrument in history, the so-called Denis d'or. He died in Přímětice (today part of) Znojmo, Moravia.

Prokop Diviš theatre in Žamberk with lightning rod on the top.
Prokop Diviš theatre in Žamberk with lightning rod on the top.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "; German: Prokop Diwisch; Latin: Procopius Divis(ch)
  2. ^ "IMA Hero: Benjamin Franklin" (bio), IMA Hero, 2003, IMA-BF (states lightning rod in 1753, after kite with son 1752).

[edit] References

  • Reinhard Breymayer. "Bibliographie zu Prokop Diviš". from Friedrich Christoph Oetinger's Die Lehrtafel der Prinzessin Antonia. Hrsg. von Reinhard Breymayer und Friedrich Häußermann. Teil 2. Anmerkungen. Berlin, New York 1977, pp. 431-453
  • Luboš Nový (Ed.): Dějiny exaktních věd v českých zemích do konce 19. století. Prague 1961

[edit] External links

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