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Wolfgang von Kempelen
Wolfgang von Kempelen | |
Born | Wolfgang Franciscus de Paula Johannes Elemosinarius von Kempelen January 23, 1734 Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg Empire (now Bratislava, Slovakia) |
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Died | March 26, 1804 (age 70) Vienna, Habsburg Empire (now Austria) |
Nationality | Hungarian |
Wolfgang von Kempelen (1734–1804) was an author and inventor, known for his chess-playing "automaton" hoax The Turk and for his speaking machine.
Biography
Though he had a long and successful career as a civil servant, von Kempelen was most famous for his construction of The Turk, a chess-playing automaton presented to Maria Theresa of Austria in 1769. The machine appeared to be able to play a strong game of chess against a human opponent, but was in fact merely an elaborate simulation of mechanical automation: a human chess master concealed inside the cabinet puppeteered the Turk from below by means of a series of levers.
References
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