Rudolf Hell(2)
Rudolf Hell
by C. Robat
19 December 1901 Eggmühl, Germany
11 March 2002, Kiel, Germany;
| Related Articles | |
| Related Resources | |
| Related Topics | |
| Principal papers | |
| Hardware | |
| Fax and Scanner | |
| Software | |
| See Also | |
| Keywords | |
| Fax, scanner | |
Achievement
Developed technology that led to the fax and the color scanner,
Biography
Hell rebuilt his business in the 1940s after his factory in Berlin was destroyed during World War II.
Hell's landmark invention was a machine for transmitting text that electronically broke up letters into a stream of dots reassembled at the receiving end, in effect the first telefax.
The commercial success of his 1929 "Hell Recorder" allowed him to found his own company.
The technology was less prone to poor reception than telex transmissions, making Hell's machines popular for news agencies, the post office and police departments. In the 1920s, he also invented an image scanning tube for televisions and a radio-beam flight-path finder that is considered a forerunner of aircraft autopilots.
During World War II in Nazi Germany, Hell worked on encoding machines. After the wartime destruction, he resumed business in 1947 and came up with inventions that revolutionized the graphic arts.
An electronically controlled engraver unveiled in 1954 made photo publishing easier for newspapers, and an early version of the color scanner followed in 1963. Hell also was a pioneer of electronic digital typesetting in the 1960s, which ushered out the traditional method using lead.
In 1980 Hell unveiled his "Chromacom" electronic image processing system. (4)
Hell sold his Kiel-based company in 1981 to German industrial giant Siemens. It was later merged with Linotype AG to become Linotype-Hell AG, which in turn was taken over by German printing press maker Heidelberger Druckmaschinen in 1996.
| 1919-1923 | Studies Elektrotechnics in München. |
| 1923-1929 | assistent
and co-worker with Professor Max Dieckmann in München. |
| 1925 | Invention of Cathode Ray Tube and operation of a television and transmit / send station for tv with Professor Dieckmann on a fair in München, Germany |
| 1927 | Promotion PhD, his thesis work dealth with a radio-beam flight-path finder for aircontrol, the fore runner of the autopilot.Presentation of a television reception and transmission station (together with Prof. Dr. Dieckmann) at the Trade Exposition in Munich |
| 1929 | Founds
a business in Berlin-Neubabelsberg. "Device for electrically transmitting written characters" (Hell Recorder) Patent for a „Vorrichtung zur elektrischen Übertragung von Schriftzeichen" (HeIl-Schreiber). |
| 1931 | Development of new Morse code devices The Hell Recorder is mass-produced by Siemens The company moves to Berlin-Dahlem |
| 1932 | Hell demonstrates the electromechanical helical scan printing system.(3) |
| 1934 | Use of the Hell Recorder by news media The company is completely destroyed in the Second World War |
| 1949 | Rebuilding his business in Kiel after WWII |
| 1950 | Development and manufacture of image transmission devices for the post office, press, police, and weather services |
| 1951 | Hell patents the Klischograph, a process for half-tone photo engravure. GL-Hell (start-stop machine) introduced. Used by the Bundeswehr (German Army) and the Bundesbahn (German Railways).(3) |
| 1954 | Elektronic Graphing machine (Klischograph), later also for color pictures. |
| 1958 | Colorgraph |
| 1961 | Hell invents the Helio-Klischograph (scanning and electromechanical engraving machine for gravure cylinders) |
| 1964 | Development of linotype (printing industry) - Digiset. |
| 1955 | Start of typeface development at Hell company. |
| 1966 | In July 1965 Hell presents the Digiset - a typesetting machine that works with digitally assembled typefaces |
| 1967 | Hell takes over the Siemens production plant in Kiel-Suchsdorf |
| 1969 | Segnatura AIGEC from the Union Italienne des Exports et Conseilleurs Graphiques |
1971 |
The company of Dr.-Ing. Rudolf Hell KG is converted
into Dr.-Ing. Rudolf Hell GmbH with Siemens AG owning a majority
stake The launch of the DC 300 marks a global breakthrough in scanner technology |
| 1972 | Dr. Hell withdraws from actively managing his company and becomes chairman of the supervisory board |
1973 |
Bestowal of an honorary doctorate by Munich Technical University on February 9, 1973 |
| 1977 | Presentation of the Gutenberg award by Mainz, the capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, and the international Gutenberg Society on June 25, 1977 in recognition of his outstanding achievements for advancing Gutenberg’s art. |
| 1978 | Receipt of the Werner-von-Siemens Ring in recognition of his achievements in the natural sciences and technology on January 13, 1978 |
| 1979 | Presentation of the ChromaCom electronic image-processing
system On the 50th anniversary of his company’s founding, Dr. Hell is made an honorary citizen by the University of Kiel |
| 1980 | "Chromacom" image processing system released |
| 1980 | Hell receives the Grand Cross for Distinguished Service with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| 1981 | Sold his business to Siemens and retired and becomes honorary chairman of the supervisory board. |
| 1981 | Receipt of the FDI Medal "for contributions to the graphic arts industry" |
| 1987 | A total of 133 patents are associated with the name of Rudolf Hell. |
| 1989 | Rudolf Hell retires Linotype AG acquires Hell GmbH from Siemens, giving rise to Linotype-Hell AG. Factory I is closed. Later, Factory III becomes the headquarters and, in 1996, the present site of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG in Kiel |
| 1996 | Acquisition of Linotype-Hell AG by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG |
| 1997 | Since 1997 the Kiel site has belonged to Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, the world’s leading supplier to the entire print media industry. Kiel is where prepress technology is developed and produced and digital printing systems are assembled. |
| 2001 | December 19, 2001: Dr. Rudolf Hell celebrates his 100th birthday. |
Honors and awards (4)
| 1962 | Gold medal of the Vienna Photographic Society |
| 1967 | The West German government awarded him its highest honor, the
Grand Cross of Merit for Distinguished Service. Gold Medal of the Society for Printing of the CSSR |
| 1968 | In he was awarded the Ullstein Ring and the Culture Award of the city of Kiel. |
| 1979 | Honorary citizenship of the city of Kiel |
| 1980 | The Grand Cross for Distinguished Service with Star of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| 1981 | Dr. Hell is made an honorary citizen of Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein |
| 1987 | Admission to the Inventors’ Gallery of the German Patent Office in Munich. |
| 2001 | The old "Siemenswall" in Kiel becomes "Dr.-Hell-Straße" |
Bibliography
