Wvs satz final indd

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had already begun in England, had not arrived in the Kingdom of 

Hanover.

It was a bad time for tenant farmers like Christian Ferdinand 

Siemens. Agriculture was suffering from falling prices all over 

Europe. The elder Siemens was constantly in arrears on the rent. 

When the Obergut lease expired in 1823, the owner made no offer 

to renew. The eight-member Siemens family was compelled to 

move to Menzendorf, a village about 25 kilometers east of Lübeck, 

where the father took over the lease on a state-owned farm. There 

in Menzendorf, which at the time was in the Archduchy of Meck-

lenburg-Strelitz, the family continued to lead a modest existence. 

The setting was an idyllic one for the growing Werner. But his fa-

ther had little success managing this farm as well; the administra-

tors repeatedly threatened to foreclose because he was behind in 

paying debts. Meanwhile, new children kept coming. Werner von 

Siemens now had four more brothers: Friedrich, Carl, Franz and 

Walter. The older boys were educated at fi rst by their grandmother. 

Then, at age eleven, Werner entered a secondary school in Schön-

berg. For a year he traveled the nearly six kilometers to school on 

foot or riding a pony. Then his father decided to engage a private 

tutor, the theology student Christoph Sponholz. Sponholz made 

a deep impression on Werner by constantly encouraging his pu-

pils’ ambition and achievement, and rewarding them with excit-

ing stories.

3

 

Despite the family’s strained fi nancial situation, the parents set 

a high priority on educating their sons well. So at age 15, Werner 

and his younger brother Hans were sent to a well-known human-

ist Gymnasium – a secondary school – the Katharineum in Lübeck. 

It soon became evident that his interests and talents inclined 

to mathematics. He could rouse no enthusiasm for ancient lan-

guages. In his second year, he added private tutoring in mathe-

North Germany ca. 1850

Starting 1819   

Persistent overproduction of agricultural products causes a 

farming crisis in Europe, with prices dropping sharply.

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matics and drawing. But at Easter 1834 he left the school without a 

diploma. 

Training in the military

When he left school, Werner von Siemens decided to take up 

studies at the Bauakademie (academy of architecture) in Berlin. 

But his parents were in no position to fi nance that expensive 

education. Then what should he do? His tutor from Lübeck coun-

seled the young man to apply to the engineering corps of the 

Prussian Army, as an offi cer candidate. That career included three 

years of attendance at the artillery and engineering school in 

Berlin, where Werner would get an education in technology and 

science at the state’s expense. Taking that advice, the 17-year-old 

applied to join the Artillery, where he would have better chances 

than in the engineering corps, and in the fall of 1834 he was accept-

ed as an offi cer candidate. First he had to serve for twelve months 

in Magdeburg. During that time, he became friends with a fellow 

member of the brigade, William Meyer, who was almost the same 

age. In the fall of the following year, the two friends were permit-

ted to transfer to the artillery and engineering school. There they 

took courses in physics, chemistry and mathematics from scien-

tists from the university and other institutions of higher educa-

tion in Berlin. A new world opened up for Werner von Siemens. 

The courses aroused an enthusiasm for science that would set the 

course for the rest of his life. He completed his artillery-related 

studies as a necessary chore. 

In the summer of 1837, Werner von Siemens passed the test for 

second lieutenant, the lowest rank as an offi cer. The next year he 

completed his training in Berlin. He had to return to his unit in 

Magdeburg, but was fi rmly determined to apply the scientifi c 

knowledge he had acquired. He had no aspiration to a career in 

the military – on the contrary, he considered military service solely 

as a way of gaining the training he wanted and ensuring a liveli-

hood until he could fi nd work that fi t his talents.

Werner von Siemens as a 

second lieutenant, ca. 1842/43

1799  

The Bauakademie is founded in Berlin. It offers future builders 

and surveyors a thorough training in science and other disciplines.

1834–1849  

Werner von Siemens serves in the Third Artillery Brigade. 

He will be promoted to fi rst lieutenant only upon his resignation from the 

military in June .

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12

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A responsible brother 

The next few years were overshadowed by personal misfortunes 

for the young offi cer. Both parents, sick and despondent, died 

within half a year of each other: his mother at age 47 in July 1839, 

his father at age 52 the following January. Christian Ferdinand and 

Eleonore Siemens had had two more children, daughter Sophie 

and son Otto, while Werner was training in the military. The par-

ents’ death left ten orphans who were not yet of age and for whom 

guardians had to be appointed. Werner von Siemens felt respon-

sible for his younger siblings. He could not apply to be their guard-

ian, for under the laws of the era, he still counted as a minor him-

self. But he assumed the role of head of the family, because his el-

der brother Ludwig had been disinherited by their father. Werner 

had already brought his brother William to join him in Magde-

burg in 1838. But he could do nothing for the other younger chil-

dren. All the same, henceforth he would feel it was his duty to en-

sure that the family could still keep together. 

An officer and inventor 

Unlike most of his Magdeburg comrades, Artillery Lieutenant 

Werner von Siemens did not spend his free time in card games or 

amorous dalliances. His passion was for chemical and physical 

experiments – which, lacking a laboratory, he performed in his 

own apartment. In 1840 he was transferred to Wittenberg. Now 

his experiments turned toward developing a galvanic method for 

gilding. He was able to gild a nickel silver teaspoon, followed by 

his pocket watch. At last his process matured to the point that it 

brought him his fi rst patent, on March 29, 1842.

4

 

But the young artillery lieutenant was not spending all his 

free time on scientifi c experiments. While still at the artillery and 

engineering school, he had dueled often – a pastime that was part 

of a young offi cer’s code of honor. Duelists and their seconds 

risked severe punishment if they were reported. But that seldom 

happened. And even when a duel was reported, as a rule the offi c-

ers were quickly pardoned. After one such duel in Wittenberg, 

in which Werner von Siemens acted as a second, he was reported 

by a wounded offi cer. A court martial then sentenced him to fi ve 

years of imprisonment, which he began serving in April 1842 at 

the offi cers’ penitentiary of the notorious Magdeburg Citadel. 

Only three weeks later, he was pardoned. In his Recollections, he 

embellishes the description of his imprisonment, writing that he 

set up “a small laboratory” in his “barred but roomy cell”, and was 

“quite content” with his situation. During the fi rst month of his 

term, he claimed to have conducted “experiments” in his cell that 

1. January 1876   

Legal adulthood is set at age  throughout the German 

Empire. Until now, in many regions people still counted as legal minors 

until age . 

1840s  

About  to  patents a year are granted in Prussia; they always 

have a term of fi ve years.

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