August Hertwig

August Hertwig, the son of a factory owner, began studying architecture at Berlin TH in late 1890, but switched to civil engineering in his first year there. Following the first state examination in 1894, Hertwig worked under Karl Bernhard at the bridge-building authority in Berlin, produced books on bridges for the Oldenburg Railway Company, worked as an assistant to Guidio Hauck, Siegmund Müller and Heinrich Müller-Breslau, and passed the second state examination (governmental building officer) in the summer of 1898. Thereafter, he was responsible for the structural calculations and design of the glasshouses for the botanic gardens in Berlin. Hertwig was appointed professor of structural analysis and steel bridges at Aachen RWTH in 1902 on the recommendation of Müller-Breslau and therefore became the youngest professor in Germany; and he had not yet published anything! He worked as a teacher and researcher at Aachen RWTH until he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Darmstadt TH in 1924, whereupon he transferred to Berlin TH to become Müller-Breslau’s successor. He remained at Berlin TH until 1937, where he became a sort of father figure, the head of the many branches of the Berlin school of structural theory (see section 6.6.4.1). He was also chief editor of the journal Der Stahlbau from 1928 to 1938, and co-editor of the journal Ingenieur- Archiv. Hertwig also published articles on the history of the theory of structures [Hertwig, 1906; 1941], construction engineering [Hertwig, 1934/1; 1934/2; 1935] and the education of technical subjects at university level, and was also in favour of dynamic soil investigations. Shortly after World War 2, Hertwig took over the chair of structural steelwork at Berlin TU from Ferdinand Schleicher, who was forced to depart due to his membership of the Nazi party. Klöppel stressed not only Hertwig’s excellent conduct, but also his brave and open fight to preserve justice and professionalism irrespective of a person’s status (see [Klöppel, 1955, p. 122]).

Main contributions to structural analysis:

Beziehungen zwischen Symmetrie und Determinanten in einigen Aufgaben der Fachwerktheorie [1905]; Die Entwicklung einiger Prinzipien in der Statik der Baukonstruktionen und die Vorlesungen über Statik der Baukonstruktionen und Festigkeitslehre von G. C. Mehrtens [1906]; Über die Berechnung mehrfach statisch unbestimmter Systeme und verwandte Aufgaben in der Statik der Baukonstruktionen [1910]; Die Lösung linearer Gleichungssysteme durch unendliche Reihen und ihre Anwendung auf die Berechnung hochgradig unbestimmter Systeme [1912]; Die Hochschulreform [1930/1]; Johann Wilhelm Schwedler. Sein Leben und sein Werk [1930/2]; Das „Kraftgrösenverfahren“ und das Formänderungsgrösenverfahren“ für die Berechnung statisch unbestimmter Gebilde [1933]; Aus der Geschichte der Strasenbautechnik [1934/1]; Aus der Geschichte der Gewölbe. Ein Beitrag zur Kulturgeschichte [1934/2]; Die Eisenbahn und das Bauwesen [1935]; Die Entwicklung der Statik der Baukonstruktionen im 19. Jahrhundert [1941]; Lebenserinnerungen von August Hermann Adalbert Hertwig [1947]; Leben und Schaffen der Brückenbauer der Deutschen Reichsbahn Schwedler, Zimmermann, Labes und Schaper. Eine kurze Entwicklungsgeschichte des Brückenbaus [1950]; Rede, gehalten bei der Gedenkfeier für Müller-Breslau am 15. Juni 1925 in der Aula der Technischen Hochschule Charlottenburg [1951] 

Source: Kurrer, Karl-Eugen The History of the Theory of Structures, Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn Verlag für Architektur und technische Wissenschaften GmbH, Berlin (Deutschland), ISBN 3-433-01838-3, 2008; p. 736/737

Participation in the following structures & large-scale projects:

• Oberbaum Bridge