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)
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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