First patent at the age of 17
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Electric clock
At the age of 17, Hermann Papst spends his “Flue Holiday” (the College for Electro technics of the “Technologische Gewerbemuseum”, had to close the school for a few weeks due to the Spanish flue) designing an electric pendulum clock and building it within three weeks in the workshop of the school. For this invention he receives his first patent. On the occasion of his father’s 50th birthday, his 20-year old son Hans-Dieter summarizes the years of Hermann Papsts adolescence: “As a young man Hermann Papst already lives in his world of technology. He has hardly any time left for sports of music. He is eager to get to know the laws and nature of science. When it comes to this field, he is quite versatile. He does not only spend time exploring magnetism and electricity, but also gravity, mechanics, electro-acoustics, thermo related and optical problems.”
Design Sketch of the patented electric clock of 1919