The Turk, a chess-playing automaton presented to Maria Theresa of Austria in 1770, remains the most recognized achievement of Wolfgang von Kempelen. Although the machine appeared to challenge human intellect, it functioned as an elaborate mechanical simulation, with a hidden chess master manipulating levers to defeat opponents including Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin.
Early Life and Civil Service
Born in 1734 in Pressburg, then the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, von Kempelen was the youngest child of Engelbert Kempelen and Anna Theresa Spindler. He received his education in law, philosophy, mathematics, and physics across Pressburg, Győr, Vienna, and Rome. His career in the Habsburg Court began in 1755 as a supernumerary clerk. Over the following decades, he held various high-level positions, including Director of Salt Mining and Imperial-Royal Court Councillor, while assisting with the relocation of the University of Tyrnavia and the construction of the Court Theatre in Buda.
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Beyond his administrative duties, von Kempelen applied his engineering skills to diverse projects. He constructed a pontoon bridge in Pressburg in 1770 and designed the fountains at Schönbrunn in 1780. In 1779, he developed a typewriter for Maria Theresia von Paradis, a blind pianist. His research into speech production culminated in the 1789 publication of his findings and the construction of a manually operated speaking machine, a version of which is held at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Additionally, he patented a steam turbine for mills between 1788 and 1789.
Artistic and Literary Pursuits
Von Kempelen balanced his mechanical interests with artistic endeavors. He was a proficient etcher and painter, and his literary output included poetry and epigrams. His creative work also extended to music; he composed a singspiel titled Andromeda and Perseus, which saw performance in Vienna. His dedication to these crafts remained a consistent feature of his life alongside his forty-three years of civil service to the Austrian Empire.
Retirement and Legacy
Upon his retirement in 1798, von Kempelen received a pension matching his final salary of 5,000 Gulden. He spent his final years owning an estate in Gomba before his death in 1804 at his apartment in Alservorstadt, a suburb of Vienna. His influence persists through contemporary academic honors, including the Wolfgang von Kempelen Computing Science History Prize and a high school in Budapest that bears his name.
Fast facts
- Born: 1734, Bratislava
- Died: 1804, Alservorstadt
- Primary occupations: Engineer, inventor, writer, painter
- Notable invention: The Turk chess automaton
- Speech research publication: 1789
- Languages spoken: German, Hungarian, Slavic, Latin, French, Italian
- Civil service tenure: 1755–1798
Questions readers ask
Was The Turk a true artificial intelligence?
No, it was a mechanical hoax. A human chess master sat inside the cabinet and operated the Turk's movements using a system of levers.
Did von Kempelen die in poverty?
He was not destitute. Upon his retirement in 1798, he was granted a pension of 5,000 Gulden, though he unsuccessfully petitioned for further compensation in 1802.
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