Dezső Korda () (8 January 1864 – 1 April 1919) was a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

born in

Kisbér Kisbér () is a town in northern Hungary, in Komárom-Esztergom county. It is the administrative centre of Kisbér District. The town was first mentioned in 1277. Royal Stud Kisber was home to the Imperial-Royal Stud where a Thoroughbred Horse r ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Korda finished his education in 1885 at the Budapest, in ''Royal Joseph Technical University'' (present-day

Budapest University of Technology and Economics The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered ...

). After that he worked as

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Korda was a lecturer at

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

for wireless telegraphy and high frequency machines. He invented the

variable capacitor A variable capacitor is a capacitor whose capacitance may be intentionally and repeatedly changed mechanically or electronically. Variable capacitors are often used in LC circuit, L/C circuits to set the resonance frequency, e.g. to tune a ra ...

with air dielectric, and received in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

a patent for invention on 13 December 1893.George Washington Pierce
''Principles of wireless telegraphy''
McGraw-Hill book company, New York, 1910
p. 114.
(Photo of rotary capacitor of Korda). He was awarded the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1907 for his scientific achievements.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korda, Dezso 1864 births 1919 deaths 20th-century Hungarian inventors Hungarian mechanical engineers Recipients of the Legion of Honour Engineers from Austria-Hungary Expatriates in France Expatriates in Switzerland Academic staff of ETH Zurich