Carl von Linde

Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde (born 11 June 1842 in Berndorf (Oberfranken); died 16 November 1934 in Munich) was a German engineer who developed the basics of modern refrigeration technology. Linde was a member of scientific and engineering associations, including being on the board of trustees of the German National Metrology Institute and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Biography

Early years

Born the son of a priest, Linde was expected to follow in his father's footsteps, but took another direction entirely. In 1861, he started a course in engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland, where his teachers included Rudolf Clausius, Gustav Zeuner and Franz Reuleaux.

Related Topics:
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich - Switzerland - Rudolf Clausius - Gustav Zeuner - Franz Reuleaux

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In 1864 Linde finished university, and Reuleaux found him a position as an apprentice at the Kottern cotton-spinning plant in Berlin. He started there the same year but stayed only a short time before moving to the new Krauss locomotive factory in Munich, where he worked as a construction engineer. Linde married Helene Grimm in February 1866; their marriage lasted 53 years and they had six children.

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In 1868 Linde heard about the opening of a new university in Munich (the Technische Hochschule) and immediately applied for a job as a lecturer; when he was accepted for the position he was only 26 years old. Linde set up an engineering lab, where students such as Rudolf Diesel studied the subject.

Related Topics:
Technische Hochschule - Rudolf Diesel

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Middle years

In 1871 Linde published an essay on improved refrigeration techniques. This caught the interest of a large number of breweries, and soon Linde was supplying them with his refrigerating machines, while constantly working to improve them.

Related Topics:
Refrigeration - Breweries

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In 1878 Linde made the decision to put all his time and effort into the production of refrigerating machinery; he gave up his professorship and founded a refrigerating company, Lindes Eismaschinen AG, (now Linde AG) in Wiesbaden. Business went well; the company sold products to breweries, slaughterhouses and cold storage companies all over Europe.

Related Topics:
Linde AG - Wiesbaden

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In 1890, Linde moved back to Munich, where he took up his professorship once more, and developed his new, ground-breaking refrigeration technique, now known as the "Linde technique" (see Inventions). In 1895, Linde files for patent protection of his process for liquefaction of atmospheric air or other gases (approved in 1903). In 1901, Linde began work on a technique to obtain pure oxygen and nitrogen.

Related Topics:
Inventions - 1895 - Patent

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Later years and Death

From 1910 Linde withdrew from his position as head of his now hugely successful company, passing on the leadership to his sons Friedrich and Richard. The Great Depression of 1929 was a hard blow to Linde AG, but the company rallied and Linde saw profits start to rise before his death in 1934 at the age of 92.

Related Topics:
1910 - Great Depression - 1929

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