Siemens, << SEE muhnz or ZEE muhnz, >> Ernst Werner von (1816-1892), was a German inventor and industrialist who contributed to telegraphy and electric power generation. He also was a founder of Siemens, now one of the world’s largest manufacturers of equipment.
Siemens was born on Dec. 13, 1816, in Lenthe, Germany, near Hanover. As a young man, he invented an electrical method of gold and silver plating, and an improved telegraph transmitter. In 1847, Siemens and Johann Halske, a maker of scientific instruments, founded a company. The firm set up telegraph lines in Germany, Russia, and other nations. In 1866, Siemens discovered the principle of the electric dynamo, which made it possible to generate electric power by means of electromagnets instead of permanent magnets. The Siemens company soon developed into a manufacturing giant. Siemens died on Dec. 6, 1892.
