Papers of Hans Reissner (1874-1967), aeronautical engineer, physicist, professor, and researcher. Reissner designed the first successful aircraft with all-metal wing and tail surfaces and the first controllable-pitch propeller. He began his career in Germany, working with Ferdinand Zeppelin, Hugo Junkers and also teaching. He immigrated to the United States in 1938 and taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1938-1944) and the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (1944-1954). Materials include correspondence, much of it relating to German aviation development in the early twentieth century; published and unpublished articles documenting Reissner's work in Germany and the United States; propeller patents (1919-1946); an aerial bombing chart (1915); teaching materials dated after 1937; photographs of early German aircraft; and, photographs of Hans Reissner.
Hans Reissner Papers, 1881-1984 (MSS 30)
Extent: 4 Linear feet (6 archives boxes and 5 oversize folders.)
Hans Jacob Reissner was born on January 18, 1874, in Berlin, Germany. He earned a degree in civil engineering from Berlin's Technische Hochschule in 1897, then spent a year in the United States working as a structural draftsman. Reissner returned to Germany to study physics with Max Planck at Berlin University. In 1900 he changed direction and attended the Technische Hochschule, where he studied under Heinrich Mueller-Breslau and completed one of the first engineering doctorates in 1902. His dissertation was on vibrations of framed structures. Reissner joined the faculty at Berlin's Technische Hochschule, but he also worked on outside projects, including structural analysis for Count Zeppelin. In 1904, he was awarded a fellowship to study the use of iron in construction in the United States.
In 1906, Reissner returned to Germany and was appointed professor of mechanics at the Technische Hochschule in Aachen. Up until this time his research had dealt with topics at the intersections of mechanics and physics, but his attention now focused upon the new field of aviation. By 1908 he was familiar enough with the basic areas of aircraft stability, control and propulsion to deliver a seminal paper published as "Wissenschafliche Fragen aus der Flugtechnik," the first of many articles on these topics. Hugo Junkers, also on the faculty at Aachen, and Reissner designed and constructed the first successful all-metal and tail-first airplane, the "Ente."
After seven years in Aachen Reissner was invited to return to Berlin's Technische Hochschule in 1913 as professor of mathematics in the civil engineering department. During World War I he was responsible for the structural analysis of the Staaken four-engine bomber and designed the first controllable-pitch propellers for this aircraft. He was awarded the Iron Cross for civilians for his work.
In 1938, Reissner immigrated to the United States, where he taught first at the Illinois Institute of Technology (1938-1944) and then at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (1944-1954). For his seventy-fifth birthday in 1949 he was honored with the presentation of a festschrift, the Reissner Anniversary Volume, at a dinner in New York.
Reissner retired from professional life in 1954 and died in 1967.
The Hans Reissner Papers document the career of a professor, researcher and aeronautical engineer during the development of early-twentieth century German aviation. The materials include correspondence, reprints, manuscripts, personal documents, patents, mechanical drawings, and photographs. Most of the material dated prior to 1938 is in German.
Arranged in eight series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS BY HANS REISSNER, 4) WRITINGS OF OTHERS, 5) LECTURES AND TEACHING MATERIAL, 6) PATENTS, 7) SUBJECT FILES, and 8) ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES.
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