Hans Reiche (28 November 1914 – 30 September 2000)Profile by Michel Guénette in the Canadian Postal Archives 2004 at http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000001043.pdf was an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

who became a world authority on Canadian stamps.

Life

Born in Berlin, Reiche received a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the

Berlin Technical University The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

in 1936,"Hans Reiche, 1914-2000. The Passing of a True Philatelist" in ''Canadian Forces Philatelic Society Bulletin'', Vol.26, No.2, 2000/01, p.4
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before travelling first to England in 1939, where he was interned after the start of World War Two, and then to Camp Monteith in Ontario, Canada in 1940. He was released in 1942 with the help of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

, who was a friend of the family, and he then started a long career working for the Canadian Government. His father was the noted physicist

Fritz Reiche Fritz Reiche (July 4, 1883 – January 14, 1969) was a German physicist, a student of Max Planck and a colleague of Albert Einstein, who was active in, and made important contributions to the early development of quantum mechanics including co-aut ...

who studied with

Max Planck Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (, ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical p ...

. Hans and his mother Bertha, donated Fritz's papers to the Center for History of Physics,

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

after his death in 1969.Finding Aid to the Fritz Reiche Papers, 1907-1998, Niels Bohr Library & Archives.
Hans' mother, formerly Bertha Ochs, was the daughter of the composer Professor

Siegfried Ochs Siegfried Ochs (19 April 1858 – 6 February 1929) was a German choral conductor and composer. Life Born in Frankfurt, Ochs first studied medicine and chemistry at the Polytechnikum Darmstadt (today the Technische Universität Darmstadt) and at ...

, the founder and conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Choir. Non-philatelic documents about Hans Reiche and his family are held in the

Ottawa Jewish Archives Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core of ...

Philatelic interests

Reiche's main philatelic interests were Canadian constant plate varieties, about which he was a prolific author, Canadian pre-cancels and old German states. At different times he received the Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals of the German Philatelic Society. He was prominent in many philatelic organisations including the

British North America Philatelic Society British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, The Ottawa Philatelic Society, The Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain (Fellow 1979), The

Royal Philatelic Society of Canada The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada is the premier philatelic organization in Canada. It is a member of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (F.I.P.) and the Federation Inter-Americana de Filatelia (F.I.A.F.). The Patron of the socie ...

(Fellow 1982) and others. Reiche was a constant contributor to the newsletters and journals of philatelic organisations. Particularly notable was "Postmarked Ottawa" in ''The Canadian Philatelist'', the official journal of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada. After his death, Reiche's philatelic papers were acquired by the Canadian Postal Archives, part of the

National Archives of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

Selected publications

*''Canada: Catalogue of constant plate varieties (Billig's Specialized Catalogues Vol.7)'',

Fritz Billig Fritz F. Billig (1902–1986) was a Viennese philatelist and stamp dealer who fled to the United States after the Austrian Anschluss in 1938 and continued his career from Jamaica, New York. There he published a successful and long-running series ...

, Jamaica, New York, 1954. *''Canada, the Admiral stamps of 1911 to 1925''. (Two volumes) *''Canada Steel Engraved Constant Plate Varieties'', 1982. *''Admiral Colour Identification''.

References

External links

The British North America Philatelic SocietyThe Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reiche, Hans German philatelists 1914 births 2000 deaths