Wolfgang von Kempelen – The Turk

Wolfgang von Kempelen was born in 1734 in Hungary. He began his studies in the place of his birth, later continuing his education in Vienna and Rome. Although a student of philosophy and law, physics and math were other academic interests of Kempelen and he was fluent in a number of languages. Besides Hungarian and German, he spoke French, Italian and Latin and ultimately learned English as well.

His professional career began inauspiciously, with a clerk position in Vienna. But his real fame – or notoriety – comes from his invention of a chess-playing automaton dubbed The Mechanical Turk. Originally built to make an impression on Empress Maria Theresa, the machine captivated audiences across the Americas and the European continent.

In reality, The Turk relied on an ingenious ruse, concealing an actual chess expert within the bowels of the machine. This master player (actually a succession of players) achieved an impressive record of victories against such luminaries as Ben Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Kempelen was a prodigious inventor, devising many other successful machines, including a hand-operated speaking device that represented a breakthrough in phonetics. In addition, he built a pontoon bridge in his hometown of Pozsony, steam-driven engines and turbines, water pumps and even a typewriting machine for a blind musician. His genius extended to architectural creations including fountains in Vienna, a theatre building and a castle reconstruction. This multi-talented Renaissance man was also an artist, poet and composer.

In his personal life, Kempelen had two marriages and was a father of five. He died while residing in Vienna. He was impoverished at the time of his death, having lost the favor of the Austrian emperor.