Johann Joseph

Ritter Ritter (German for "knight") is a designation used as a title of nobility in German-speaking areas. Traditionally it denotes the second-lowest rank within the nobility, standing above "Edler" and below "Freiherr" (Baron). As with most titles an ...

von Prechtl (16 November 1778, Bischofsheim, Grand-Dukal Würzburg (today's)

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally r ...

28 October 1854,

Wieden Wieden (; Central Bavarian: ''Wiedn'') is the 4th municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 4. Bezirk). It is near the centre of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but its borders were changed later. Wieden is a small region ...

No. 54 (today's Paniglgasse, 4th district of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

)) was a German-born Austrian (since 1802)

technologist Technologist may refer to: * Applied Science Technologist, a Canadian professional title in engineering and applied science technology. * Architectural technologist, a specialist in the technology fields of building, design and construction. * C ...

and educator. He is regarded as a pioneer of technical education in Austria. From 1796 he studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and legal science in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, later working as a private instructor outside of

Brünn Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inha ...

, and afterwards as a teacher of

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at a secondary school in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(181014). In 1815 he became founder and first director of the

Vienna Polytechnic Institute TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...

. With Johann Arzberger (17781835), he conducted research of public gas illumination, being credited with introducing a

coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

generating plant at the institute. Reportedly, in 1818, there were 25 operational public gas lanterns in Vienna. In 1823 he developed a portable

baroscope A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

Written works

With

Karl Karmarsch Karl Karmarsch (17 October 1803 – 24 March 1879) was an Austrian-born (since 1830) German educator, founding director of the Polytechnic School in Hanover, later to become the University of Hannover. From 1817 to 1823, he was associated with t ...

(180379), he was editor of a multi-volume

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

of technology, ''Technologische Encyklopädie oder alphabetisches Handbuch der Technologie, der technischen Chemie und des Maschinenwesens'' (Technological encyclopedia or an alphabetic textbook of technology,

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

and

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

). Begun in 1830, the encyclopedia consisted of twenty volumes, with five supplementary volumes being issued by Karmarsch after Prechtl's death (from 1857 to 1869). Other noteworthy written efforts by Prechtl include: * ''Ueber die Fehler in der Erziehung, vorzüglich in Hinsicht auf die gesellschaftlichen Uebel'', 1804 – On errors in education in terms of social ills. * ''Anleitung zur zweckmäßigsten Einrichtung der Apparate zur Beleuchtung mit Steinkohlen-Gas'' 1817 – Guide to the most appropriate device for lighting appliances with coal gas. * ''Praktische Dioptrik als vollständige und gemeinfassliche Anleitung zur Verfertigung achromatischer Fernröhre : nach den neuesten Verbesserungen und Hülfsmitteln und eigenen Erfahrungen''. 1828 – Practical

dioptrics Dioptrics is the branch of optics dealing with refraction, similarly the branch dealing with mirrors is known as catoptrics. Dioptrics is the study of the refraction of light, especially by lenses. Telescopes that create their image with an object ...

as complete and comprehensible instructions for construction of achromatic telescopes.

Commemoration

. Since 1886, the ''Prechtlgasse'' in the

Alsergrund Alsergrund (; Central Bavarian: ''Oisagrund'') is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (german: 9. Bezirk, Alsergrund). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. ...

district of Vienna has been named in his honor.Statement based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

References

Biography
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Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prechtl, Johann Joseph von 1778 births 1854 deaths 19th-century Austrian engineers Austrian scientists Austrian mechanical engineers Austrian educators Engineering academics Academics of TU Wien Rectors of universities in Austria University of Würzburg alumni Austrian knights German emigrants to the Austrian Empire People from Rhön-Grabfeld People from Wieden