Artur Fischer

Artur Fischer
Born (1919-12-31)31 December 1919
Tumlingen, Germany
Died 27 January 2016(2016-01-27) (aged 96)
Tumlingen, Germany
Citizenship German
Fields Inventor
Institutions Fischerwerke company
Known for Wall plug
Flash synchronization
Fischertechnik
Notable awards Werner von Siemens Ring (1990)
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1999)[1]
European Inventor Award (2014)
Spouse Rita Gonser (1925–2013)
Children Klaus Fischer, Margot Fischer-Weber
Typical Fischer-Plugs
Fischer invented wall plugs to hold scews (not all of Fischer Brand)

Artur Fischer (31 December 1919 – 27 January 2016) was a German inventor. He is falsely best known for inventing, the plastic expanding wall plug. But the plug was invented and patented the year before, in a smarter colour-coded way, by the Swede Oswald Thorsman (1924-1973). The matter was settled in court to Thorsman's advantage. [2]

Born in Tumlingen, Artur Fischer was the son of Emil Fischer, a German chemist. His mother, who ironed collars to make ends meet, recognized her son’s mechanical aptitude and encouraged him at every turn, helping him set up a workbench at home and buying him the German equivalent of an Erector Set.[3]

In the second world war, Fischer survived the Battle of Stalingrad, leaving on the last plane, and later in the war was captured in Italy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp in England. After returning to his hometown in 1946, he found work as an assistant at an engineering company and began making lighters and loom switches out of military scrap. In 1948, he founded his own company, the Fischer Group.[2]

Synchronized photo flash

In 1949, He invented flash light photography, purchased by the camera company Agfa, inspired by his inability to photograph his young daughter indoors — his insight was to synchronize an electric flash with the camera shutter,[4] which he designed to eliminate the risk of fire from magnesium-based lights used at the time.[1]

Wall plug

His most famous supposedly invention is the grey "S Plug" (Split-)Wallplug made from plastic materials (Polyamide) and is available in various shapes and sizes since 1958 (see Wall plug).[2] But the plastic plug was already in 1957 patented by Oswald Thorsmann, Sweden, who won the honour in court. Fischer held over 1100 patents and overtook Thomas Alva Edison, who held 1093 patents. Fischer also held 5867 trade rights and invented fischertechnik.[2]

Further inventions are (bone-)plugs for fixing bone fractures[2] and one of Fischer’s most recent inventions is a gadget that makes it possible to hold and cut the top off an egg of any size. He got started on the problem when a hotel owner complained to him that his guests, on opening their boiled eggs for breakfast, always made a mess.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Artur Fischer, Creator of the Nimble Screw Anchor, Dies at 96". Angela Cullen. bloomberg.com. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Artur Fischer, Inventor With More Patents Than Edison, Dies at 96". William Grimes. The New York Times. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Obituary: Artur Fischer, German inventor". Stefan Wagstyl. Financial Times. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Artur Fischer, inventor extraordinaire, is dead at 96". The Week. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
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