About PTB > PTB – a brief presentation > Historical
Historical
From the foundation to German unification
| 1887 | Foundation of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (PTR) in Berlin on the basis of the ideas of Werner von Siemens and Hermann von Helmholtz and on their joint initiative. Helmholtz is nominated the PTR’s first president. |
| 1898 | First legal tasks: realization and maintenance of the electric units; testing of instruments for measuring electric quantities. |
| 1923 | Incorporation of the Reichsanstalt für Maß und Gewicht (Weights and Measures Office). Supervising technical authority for the verification and test offices. Responsible for establishing and ensuring all legal units. |
| 1933 | For PTR, too, a dark chapter begins. A staunch National Socialist and opponent of modern theoretical physics is appointed president. Among other things, he dissolves the Kuratorium (Advisory Board) of PTR during his term in office. |
| 1943-45 | Heavy war damages. Many laboratories of the Reichsanstalt are moved to other places. |
| 1946 | Rebuilding of PTR in Berlin, as an agency of the Senate of West Berlin. |
| 1950 | Foundation of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig. |
| 1953 | Affiliation of the PTR in Berlin-Charlottenburg to PTB as the "Berlin Institute". |
| 1977 | New task: "Long-term storage and final disposal of radioactive wastes". |
| 1990 | Assumption of some of the tasks of the metrology department of the "Amt für Standardisierung, Messwesen und Warenprüfung" (ASMW, Agency for Standardization, Metrology and Commodities Testing) of the former German Democratic Republic. At this point in time, PTB has a staff of 2,000. |
| 2002 | Evaluation of the PTB by an expert committee appointed by the Federal Ministry of Economics. |
| 2008 | PTB is evaluated by the Science Council by order of the Federal Government - with excellent results. |
| 2012 | "125 years exactly": PTB looks back on a 125-year-old (success) story in March 2012 – with an international symposium and a festive ceremony in the Braunschweiger Stadthalle (Braunschweig Civic Centre). |
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© Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, last update: 2011-11-17, WEB-Redaktion
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