Ten fun facts about Ernst Werner von Siemens

Fact 1
Siemens’s name has been adopted as the SI unit of electrical conductance, the siemens.

Fact 2
He was also the founder of the electrical and telecommunications company Siemens.

Fact 3
Werner Siemens was born in Lenthe, today part of Gehrden, near Hannover, in the Kingdom of Hanover in the German Confederation, the fourth child (of fourteen) of a tenant farmer.

Fact 4
He is known world-wide for his advances in various technologies, and chose to work on perfecting technologies that had already been established.

Fact 5
Siemens invented a telegraph that used a needle to point to the right letter, instead of using Morse code.

Fact 6
Following his industrial career, he was ennobled in 1888, becoming Werner von Siemens.

Fact 7
Siemens AG is one of the largest electrotechnological firms in the world.

Fact 8
The von Siemens family still owns 6% of the company shares (as of 2013) and holds a seat on the supervisory board, being the largest shareholder.

Fact 9
Apart from the pointer telegraph Siemens made several contributions to the development of electrical engineering and is therefore known as the founding father of the discipline in Germany.

Fact 10
He built the world's first electric elevator in 1880.