150th birthday of Philipp Reis - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1984 - 80 Pfennig

On January 7, 1834, Johann Philipp Reis was born the son of a master baker in Gelnhausen. Philip's elementary school teachers soon recognized his extraordinary talents and recommended that the father be sent to a secondary school later. Since the mother had died in 1835 and the father in 1843, the grandmother had to take over the education of the boy. It was thanks to her and a guardian to Philip that he was admitted to the Garnier Institute in Friedrichsdorf in the Taunus in 1844. After completing his education at the age of 14, he began language studies at the Hassel Institute in Frankfurt am Main. In 1850, at the behest of another guardian, who had little sympathy for Philipp Reis, he had to begin an apprenticeship in a paint shop. During his free time, he dealt with science and mathematics. Already in 1851 Reis became a member of the Physical Society in Frankfurt am Main. In the following years he prepared himself for the teaching profession and took over in 1858 a teaching post at the Garnier Institute in Friedrichsdorf. Since he initially had only a few hours to give, he used the free time to investigate physical processes. So he had z. For example, the idea that electrical forces could be propagated through the room without solid conductors. The results of his experiments he put down in a document that has not been preserved. He had more success with his work on the functions of the hearing instruments. He invented an apparatus to illustrate these functions and reproduce sounds of various kinds. He called the apparatus he had made himself "telephone." Reis introduced his phone for the first time on October 26, 1861 in the Physical Association of Frankfurt am Main. In the annual report of this association a treatise by him "About Telephonie by the galvanic current" appeared. Further public demonstrations took place in the following years. Over time, Reis improved his apparatus, which was soon to be found in many physical laboratories at home and abroad. Emperors and kings were interested in the new phone and let it show themselves. Nevertheless, the invention of Philipp Reis had come too early for the world. He found himself - as inventors often go - not the necessary support and could not expand his invention. His health deteriorated increasingly. In the meantime, even his voice failed. On January 14, 1874, he succumbed to a serious lung disease. In his last notes he wrote: "I have given the world a great invention. I must leave it to others to continue them. "In 1876, the American A.G. Bell, who had become thoroughly acquainted with the invention of Philipp Reis, was able to construct a serviceable telephone. As early as 1877 experiments began in Berlin with Bell apparatuses. This laid the foundation for today's well-developed telephone network of the Deutsche Bundespost, which allows each telephone subscriber to dial a different subscriber across seas and continents. The memory of Philipp Reis is especially preserved today in Gelnhausen, Friedrichsdorf and Frankfurt am Main. In 1952, the Deutsche Bundespost donated a Philipp Rice badge, which is awarded annually to personalities who have made outstanding contributions in the field of telecommunications. In Friedrichsdorf in the Taunus, the Deutsche Bundespost has set up a Philipp Reis collection in the former home of Reis in Hugenottenstraße 93, which can be visited on Saturdays from 10 to 12 o'clock. (Text: Federal Postal Museum, Frankfurt am Main)