WOLFGANG VON KEMPELEN Biography - Pioneers, Explorers & inventors

 
 

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WOLFGANG VON KEMPELEN

Name: Johann Wolfgang von Kempelen                                                         
Born: 23 January 1734  Pressburg                                                           
Died: 26 March 1804  Vienna                                                               
                                                                                           
Johann Wolfgang von Kempelen (born 23 January 1734 in Pressburg (present-day Bratislava), 
died 26 March 1804 in Vienna) was an author and inventor, who became most famous           
for his construction of The Turk, which was a chess-playing automaton later               
revealed to be a hoax, and a manually operated speaking machine, which was                 
a genuine pioneering step in experimental phonetics.                                       
                                                                                           
Von  Kempelen was  a  scientist in  the  employ of  the  empress Maria                     
Theresa;  his non-hoax  inventions included  a "speaking  machine," in  which a           
bellows forced air through an artificial voice box to simulate human speech.