INVENTOR

Peter Henlein

1479 - 1542

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Peter Henlein (also spelled Henle or Hele) (1485 - August 1542), a locksmith, clockmaker, and watchmaker of Nuremberg, Germany. Due to the Fire-gilded pomander-shaped watch from 1505, he is often considered the inventor of the pocket watch. He was one of the first craftsmen to make small ornamental portable clocks which were often worn as pendants or attached to clothing, and which are regarded as the first watches. Many sources also erroneously credit him as the inventor of the mainspring. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Peter Henlein is the 153rd most popular inventor (up from 155th in 2019), the 1,822nd most popular biography from Germany (up from 1,880th in 2019) and the 20th most popular German Inventor.

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Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Peter Henlein ranks 153 out of 426Before him are Siegfried Marcus, Richard Jordan Gatling, Robert Cailliau, Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, Henri Giffard, and Mary Anderson. After him are Robert Moog, Friedrich Zander, Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky, Joseph Monier, Paul Baran, and Christopher Latham Sholes.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1479, Peter Henlein ranks 7Before him are Joanna of Castile, Hafsa Sultan, Lisa del Giocondo, Vasili III of Russia, Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, and Diego Columbus. After him are Ippolito d'Este, Vallabha, Francisco de Montejo, Guru Amar Das, Catherine of York, and Philip I, Margrave of Baden. Among people deceased in 1542, Peter Henlein ranks 9Before him are Catherine Howard, Lisa del Giocondo, 2nd Dalai Lama, Hernando de Soto, Dosso Dossi, and Sayyida al Hurra. After him are Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, Thomas Wyatt, Girolamo Aleandro, Ludwig Senfl, Nikolaus Federmann, and Malik Muhammad Jayasi.

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Others Deceased in 1542

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In Germany

Among people born in Germany, Peter Henlein ranks 1,822 out of 7,253Before him are Balthasar Hubmaier (1485), Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (1097), Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld (1651), Carl Loewe (1796), Hans-Hermann Hoppe (1949), and Wilhelm Schepmann (1894). After him are Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg (1886), Lothar von Trotha (1848), Armin Meiwes (1961), Princess Louise Caroline of Hesse-Kassel (1789), Carl Ludwig Blume (1796), and Louis VI, Elector Palatine (1539).

Among INVENTORS In Germany

Among inventors born in Germany, Peter Henlein ranks 20Before him are Theobald Boehm (1794), Hans von Ohain (1911), Alfred Krupp (1812), Hugo Schmeisser (1884), Siegfried Marcus (1831), and Johann Nepomuk Maelzel (1772). After him are Heinrich Göbel (1818), Uziel Gal (1923), Henrich Focke (1890), Artur Fischer (1919), Johann Nicolaus von Dreyse (1787), and Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff (1803).