Walter Robert Fuchs (March 18, 1937 in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

– 21 July, 1976 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

) was an American-German

science communicator Science communication is the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of science-related topics, and increasing the sense of wonder about scientific discoveries and arguments. Science communicators and audiences are ambiguously def ...

and science popularizer.

Life and work

Fuchs was born in

, where his father worked as a bank clerk. He went to

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Wü ...

school (graduating in 1956), was trained as an electrician and mechanic, and then studied electrical engineering at the

Munich Technical University The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

as well as physics, mathematics and philosophy at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. With a dissertation on "Logical problems of classical mechanics and quantum theory", he received his doctorate in 1961. In 1962 he was business editor at television program of

Bavarian Radio Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

studios, and since 1965 he had headed the editorial of Applied Science and Technology. Fuchs spent his life in Munich and died at the age of 39 from cancer. "Brücke zum Laien"
''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', May 4, 1976 Fuchs wrote mostly in German; his books were translated into English and other languages and met an internationally wide audience. In 1970, his books had a total circulation of 750,000 sold copies, especially for math and science subjects. '' Modern mathematics'' was translated into fourteen languages, as in the later 1960s, and it helped to popularize the concepts of sets theory. Fuchs was a trained artist and supplied many of the templates for the illustrations of his own works; in his time in Munich, he played clarinet and saxophone in various jazz bands. In 1972 he published his satire ''The Dogs Planet'', a fiction novel.

Bibliography

*'' Logical Investigations to problems in classical mechanics and quantum theory'' (dissertation) 1961 *'' Knaurs book of modern mathematics'' Droemer / Knaur, 1966, 1972 (translated into English: Mathematics for the modern mind, MacMillan 1967). *'' Knaurs book of modern physics.'' Droemer / Knaur 1965th *'' Knaurs Book of thinking machines -. Information theory and cybernetics'' Knaur 1968th *'' Knaurs book of electronics.'' *'' Parents discover the new mathematics. Quantities and numbers'' 1970th *'' Knaurs book of the New Learning.'' 1969th *'' Parents discover the new logic.'' *'' And Muhammad is their prophet -. The Arabs and their world'' 1975th *'' Rebus from the drawing board - an introduction to the modern philosophy'' Knaur 1972 (on analytic philosophy).. *'' Before the earth moved - a world history of physics'' DVA 1975th. *'' Formula and fantasy -. A world history of mathematics'' DVA 1977 (the book was never finished and treated essentially only the antiquity), rororo 1979th *'' Life under distant suns?'' Droemer / Knaur 1973rd *'' The Dog Planet -. Canedusische thought one story'' Droemer / Knauer 1973rd *'' Poetry as editor of our mid-century'', Kösel Verlag 1965 (with interpretations of fox).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Walter Robert German science writers 1937 births 1976 deaths