Werner von Siemens: Inventor and Industralist

Ernst Werner von Siemens – the "von" was added to his name in 1888 – was born on December 13, 1816, in Lenthe near Hanover, Germany. Being the fourth child of ultimately 14 children of a local farmer, finances were tight at home and this precluded him not only from finishing his formal schooling with its final gymnasium exam but it also put tertiary education beyond his grasp. In order to get access to free education and training in the field of engineering he joined the Prussian army in 1835. This enabled him to spend three years at the Artillery and Engineering Academy in Berlin where he studied mathematics, physics and chemistry. This not only gave him a solid foundation for his future career, but it also resulted in Siemens becoming one of the top engineers of his time.