Otto von Guericke

Timeline

1. 1617–1623Leipzig · SaxonyEntered the University of Leipzig in 1617, transferring to the University of Jena in 1620 to study law; received humanist and legal training that laid the foundation for his later municipal administration and engineering work.
2. 1624–1625The Hague · South HollandIn 1624 traveled through the Netherlands, England, and elsewhere, encountering contemporary European urban governance and engineering practice, broadening his horizons before returning home.
3. 1625–1629Magdeburg · Saxony-AnhaltFrom 1625 participated in Magdeburg's municipal government, responsible for city defenses and administrative affairs; organized defenses amid the Thirty Years' War, accumulating engineering and organizational experience that laid the groundwork for his later long leadership of the city's reconstruction.
4. 1629–1631Vienna · AustriaServed in the imperial army from 1629 to 1631 as an engineer; returned home after the sack of Magdeburg in 1631, thereafter long directing the city's reconstruction and defensive works.
5. 1647–1686Magdeburg · Saxony-AnhaltInvented the vacuum pump in the 1650s; in 1654 publicly demonstrated atmospheric pressure with the Magdeburg hemispheres at Regensburg; also researched static electricity from friction, authoring 'New Magdeburg Experiments on Vacuum' to expound his experimental results, and is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern experimental science.