On this page you can read articles about Rasmus Malling-Hansen from different newspapers and periodicals, dating from 1884 to 1935. All articles will be pubished first in the original language, usually Danish, and then translated into English language by member of the Malling-Hansen Society and great grand-son of Malling-Hansen's brother, Johan Frederik Hansen; Jørgen Malling Christensen.

All articles are richly illustrated and contain comments and footnotes by Rasmus Malling-Hansen connesseurs, Christian Barnholdt, Sverre Avnskog and Jørgen Malling Christensen.

     Content:

• Rasmus Malling-Hansen - the Danish Inventor-Priest, by Sverre Avnskog, 2006 (English)

• The Inventor of the Typewriter Had Plenty of Ideas, by Fritz Bech, from The Sunday Issue of ‘Berlingske Tidende’, September 3, 1935 (English and Danish)

• A Famous Lollander – a Forgotten name, by Arild S. Ebbe, from Lolland Falster Folketidende, 1928 (English and Danish)

• Døvstummelæreren - opfinderen - biologen, af Fritz August Bech, fra Tidskrift för dövstumskolan, 1935. (Danish)

• Rasmus Malling-Hansen, av Fritz August Bech, fra Opfindernes liv - bind 1, 1924. (Danish)

• Rasmus Malling-Hansen, skrivekuglens opfinder, af Johanne Agerskov, håndskrevet manuskript fra ca 1925. (Danish)

• Rasmus Malling-Hansen, inventor of the writing ball, by Johanne  Agerskov, handwritten manuscript from around 1925. (English)

• Skrivmaskinens uppfinnare, fra Dövas vän, 1928. (Swedish)

• Fakta om Rasmus Malling-Hansen, af Sofus Elvius, fra Dansk præstehistorie 1869-1884. (Danish)

• Facts about Rasmus Malling-Hansen, by Sofus Elvius, from Clerical History of Denmark, 1869-1884. (English)

En Hundreaarsdag:

Den første Skrivemaskinens Opfinder havde mange Idéer

Av Forstander F. Bech

5. September er det 100 Aar siden Skrivekuglens Opfinder blev født. Forstander for Døvstummeinstitutet i Fredericia, F. BECH skriver om Manden med de mange Ideer.

UDE paa Garnisons Kirkegaard, til højre for og noget længere tilbage end Mindesmærket over Olaf Rye, er af ”Talende og døvstumme Venner” rejst en Gravsten i Bornholmsk Granit, med Medaillon af Ludv. Brandstrup, over Døvstummeforstanderen, Opfinderen og Biologen Hans Rasmus Malling Johan Hansen eller, som han selv skrev sig: R. Malling-Hansen. Medaillonen viser ham i hans kraftigste Alder, et Par Aar før en haardnakket Hjertelidelse slog ham ned. Hans Liv er som Indledningen til et Eventyr, i hvilket der ingenlunde manglede mørke Skygger, men hvor Genialitetens Lys stadig brød igennem, indtil det for bestandig slukkedes. Kun 55 Aar gammel, den 27. September 1890, segnede han om i Nyboder, paa Hjemvejen fra Frimurerlogen, hvor han som en af Ordenens mest fremstaaende Brødre havde haft Ordet.

Article from ’Folketidende’ (probably ’Lolland-Falsters Folketidende’)March 10, 1928.

”The constrained conditions and skepticism of a tiny country, the cramped space here, the sensation of sitting in a small cove while the great waves are thundering outside, weighed this man down” . This is what “Illustreret Tidende” wrote at the death of Rasmus Malling in 1890.

The journal was probably correct; and yet he achieved so much. He died – only 55 years old – principal and priest of the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes in Copenhagen, he invented the typewriter and the tachygraph and stood as an outstanding biologist.

Like so many others he started out confidently, and in his vivid imagination saw all obstacles already moved away, but time passed and he got to know the thorny road to honor. In his mind he already saw the statue erected, but yet he achieved only a torso. He frequently met indifference where he had hoped to find warmth, and reticence where he had hoped to meet full support.

Rasmus Malling Hansen hailed from humble people. He was born 1835 at Havlykke, where his father , Johan Frederik Hansen was a school teacher, but the boy was barely four years old when his father died, and he was then adopted into the house of the peculiarly cultured and able-minded man Rasmus Malling, at the time a school teacher at Hunseby.

Here for the first time, he met impressions of the greater world outside, and this stirred his interest in studying. However at first it was not successful. Money was scarce, and hence he was placed in apprenticeship with a house painter in the town of Maribo, where he was also confirmed. However, here he met the destiny of his life in the shape of the Count of Knuthenborg, who had heard about the talented son of the school teacher and gave him the necessary financial support to enable him to enter the college of Jonstrup, where he spent three years, which he always referred to with the utmost joy. In 1854 he graduated with excellent marks and then – still sponsored by the count – went to Copenhagen where he took the General Certificate with the highest distinction four years later. He now intended to study Theology and also started his studies, but before graduating he was appointed teacher of the institute for the deaf-mutes in Copenhagen, and here he found a task that captured his interest, yes indeed became the calling of his life.

In the meantime, in the tumultuous years before the war in 1864, the Government wanted a good Danish man as the principal of the institute for the deaf-mutes in Schleswig and the lot fell on Malling, who took over the job in 1862. However, war and the German powers soon drove him away. Already in 1864 he returned and resumed his theological studies. The following year he graduated and simultaneously was appointed principal of the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes in Copenhagen.

The general public knows practically nothing about Malling Hansen’s merits within the education for the deaf-mutes in Denmark. Thanks to him the Keller Institutions were adopted as an element in the education of the deaf-mutes in this country. The speech method was introduced, the new institute for the deaf-mute in Fredericia was established, and the old incomplete sign language was substituted by the hand alphabet at the institute in Copenhagen.

When it is stated in a commission report from 1889 that all institutes for the deaf-mutes in Denmark have been integrated into a system, within which each and every single deaf-mute person is referred to a particular institution, where the teaching corresponds with the degree of his particular physical disability and mental capacity, and that such a systematic regulation of the teaching of the deaf-mutes is still not found anywhere else than in Denmark, this excellent result is primarily due to Rasmus Malling.

All other sciences that absorbed his interest in reality were rooted in the plight of the deaf-mutes. For instance, we must mention that the scientific work “Periods in the Growth of Children and in Solar Heat” – famous all over Europe – has its origin in a practical and rather down-to-earth investigation into the most appropriate meal regulation for the institute. In this field – the investigation about children’s growth – he achieved in fact the highest honor possible. At a medical congress  in Copenhagen he – the teacher and priest of the deaf-mutes -  gave a lecture about periods in the growth of children’s growth, and the most distinguished  participants of the medical congress saluted him with unqualified applause. Likewise, at his demise he was characterized by the foreign press as one of the most important biological researchers.

At the institute he had observed that a finger speaker using the sign language of the deaf-mutes could reproduce up to 12 signs per second, while in ordinary speech we produce 20 phonetic signs – in lectures 15 – but we can only write down 4. This led him into ideas about the feasibility of achieving a reproduction of sound, legible to everyone, able to follow the speed of speech, and with great mechanic ingenuity he succeeded in 1865 to construct the so called writing ball, named after its semi-spherical piston piece, into which were assembled all the letters and signs needed by the typing hand.

In 1870 he got a 15 year patent for its production; it was awarded prizes in Copenhagen in 1872 and in 1873 in Vienna, mentioned in German, Danish and British papers, and the English and Austrian patents were sold. Orders came in from Russia and Italy, in reality he was turning into one of the famous sons of the country.

Unfortunately the inventor did not have his mind set to produce the machine industrially, and of course the first model also had a number of flaws. However, this in no way disheartened him. As long as into (?) the 80’ies he continued working with improvements of the machine, and he really did succeed – with remarkable ingenuity – to develop the device into such a shape and function that it really did perform its task. And nevertheless, when his name in our time – not yet 40 years after his death – has been partially forgotten, it is only because he lacked the necessary capital to tackle the American competitors.

Of course, one must not be led to believe, that there were no other people working with the construction of such typewriters. In the beginning, however, the intention was merely to produce a means for blind people to communicate in writing as easily as possible (one such machine had been produced already in 1838). But Malling-Hansen was the first one to produce a really functional, reliable speed writing machine. In 1868 an inventor in America took out a patent for a machine intended to do the same job as Malling-Hansen’s , but that it was not nearly as good as his can be deduced from the fact that the Danish inventor was offered a very substantial sum of money for his patent.

Finally we cannot end this account about Rasmus Malling without mentioning, that he was also the inventor of a new copying method. . The previously known methods were only able to produce from 2 to 12 identical copies, but with his method – the so called xerography – a couple of hundreds could be made, and it was at the time the simplest, quickest and cheapest copying method.

In 1924 a feud emerged  between professor Hannover and contemporary relatives of Rasmus Malling  about who was the inventor of the writing ball, the former claiming that the honor belonged to councilor J.U.Peters, former teacher in Flensburg. Without entering into the details of the strife, suffice it here to refer to Mrs Johanne Agerskov’s work ‘ Who Is the Inventor of the Writing-Ball?”, where she demonstrates very clearly that the honor belongs to her late father.

And – once more quoting the obituary of “Ilustreret Tidende” from 1890 – we are reminded that a small country ‘is not propitious for the development of ‘heroes’’, and that Malling Hansen is no exception from this rule. He is, and rightfully remains, one of the pioneers of science.

And first and foremost we must never forget that he was a father for the unfortunate children trusted to his care, and true humanitarian and a good man.

Arild S. Ebbe

English translation

by Jørgen Malling Christensen

Artikel fra Folketidende   (formentlig Lolland-Falsters Folketidende) den 10 marts 1928.

"Det lille lands små forhold og skepsis, den indskrænkede plads herhjemme, følelsen af at sidde inde i en lille vig, medens de store bølger går udenfor, tyngede denne mand." Således skrev Illustreret Tidende ved Rasmus Mallings død i 1890.

Den havde sikkert ret, og dog nåede han meget. Han døde - kun 55 år gammel - som forstander og præst  ved døvstummeinstituttet i København, han opfandt skrivemaskinen og takygrafen og stod som en meget fremragende biolog.

Som så mange andre begyndte han med frejdigt mod og så i sin livlige fantasi alle hindringer ryddet af vejen, men tiden gik, og han lærte ærens tornefulde vej at kende. Han så i tankerne statuen rejst, men nåede kun at frembringe en torso. Han mødte ofte ligegyldighed, hvor han havde håbet at finde varme, tilbageholdenhed hvor han havde ventet fuld tilslutning.

Rasmus Malling Hansen stammede fra småkårsfolk. Han blev født 1835 i Havlykke, hvor hans far, Joh. Fr. Hansen var lærer, men drengen var ikke mere end fire år, da faderen døde, og han kom så i huset hos den mærkelig dannede og dygtige mand Rasmus Malling, der var lærer i Hunseby.

Her mødte han første gang indtryk fra den store verden udenfor, og lysten til at lære noget vågnede i ham. Det lykkedes dog ikke i første omgang. Penge var det småt med hos den gode Rasmus Malling, og drengen kom derfor i malerlære i Maribo, da han var konfirmeret. Her mødte han imidlertid sit livs skæbne i skikkelse af Greven på Knuthenborg, der havde hørt den flinke skolelærersøn omtale og gav ham midler til at komme på Jonstrup Seminarium, hvor han tilbragte tre år, som han altid omtalte med største glæde. I 1854 blev han dimitteret med resultatet Udmærket duelig og tog så - stadig understøttet af Greven - til København, hvor han fik studentereksamen med første karakter fire år efter. Det var nu hans mening at studere teologi, og han begyndte også derpå, men før han fik eksamen blev han udnævnt til lærer ved Døvstummeinstituttet i København, og her fandt han en gerning, der interesserede ham levende, ja i virkeligheden blev hans livs mål.

Imidlertid ønskede man i de bevægede år, der gik ret forud for krigen i 1864, en god dansk mand som forstander for døvstummeinstituttet i Slesvig, og loddet faldt på Malling, der overtog embedet i 1862. Krigen og de tyske magthavere drev ham imidlertid hurtigt bort. Allerede 1864 kom han tilbage og optog sine teologiske studier. Året efter blev han kandidat og omtrent samtidig forstander for døvstummeinstituttet i København.

Den store offentlighed ved så godt som intet om Malling Hansens fortjeneste af døvstummesagen i Danmark. Takket være ham blev de kellerske anstalter allerede i 1867 optaget som led i døvstummeundervisningen herhjemme. Talemetoden blev indført, det ny døvstummeinstitut oprettet i Fredericia og det gamle ufuldkomne tegnsprog afløst af håndalfabetet på instituttet i København.

Når det i en kommissionsbetænkning af 1889 hedder, at alle landets døvstummeanstalter er indordnet som led i et system, indenfor hvilket enhver døvstum henvises til en særlig anstalt, hvor undervisningen er afpasset efter graden i hans legemlige fejl og hans åndelige standpunkt, og at en sådan systematisk ordning af døvstummeundervisningen endnu ikke findes andre steder end i Danmark, skyldes dette fortrinlige resultat i første række Rasmus Malling.

Alle andre interesser, hvoraf han blev grebet, havde i virkeligheden deres rod hos de døvstumme. Her skal f. eks. nævnes, at det videnskabelig og i hele Europa berømte værk Perioder i Børns Vækst og i Solens Varme har sin oprindelse i en praktisk og ganske prosaisk undersøgelse om det bedste spisereglement for instituttet. På dette område - undersøgelsen af børns vækst - nåede han forøvrigt den smukkeste anerkendelse, der kunde findes. På en lægekongres i København holdt han - de døvstummes lærer og præst - et foredrag om perioder i børns vækst, og alle lægekongressens ypperste hilste ham med udelt bifald, ligesom han ved sin død i udlandets  presse betegnes som en af biologiens betydeligt forskere.

Han havde på instituttet iagttaget, at en fingertaler i døvstummesproget kunde gengive 12 lydtegn i sekundet, gennemsnitlig udtaler man i almindelig tale 20 lydtegn - i foredrag 15 - men man kan kun nedskrive 4. Det førte ham til at tænke over muligheden af at kunne nå en for alle læselig gengivelse af lyden, der kunde følge talen, og med stor mekanisk snilde lykkedes det ham i 1865 at fremstille den såkaldte Skrivekugle,  det har sit navn af det halvkugleformede stempelstykke, i hvilke han samlede alle de typer, som den skrivende hånd anslå.

I 1870 fik han 15 års eneret på dens fremstilling; den blev prisbelønnet i København i 1872 og i 1873 i Wien, omtalt i tyske, danske og engelske blade, og det engelske og østrigske patent blev solgt. Der indløb bestillinger fra Rusland og Italien, han var i virkeligheden blevet en af landets berømte.

Desværre var opfinderen ikke indstillet på at fremstille maskinen fabriksmæssigt, og selvfølgelig var den første model også behæftet med mangler. Det betog ham dog ikke i mindste måde modet. Helt (?) til 80' erne beskæftigede han sig med forbedringer af maskinen, og det lykkedes ham virkelig med mærkelig genialitet tilsidst at give apparatet en sådan form, at det løste sin opgave. Og når hans navn ikke desto mindre i vore dage - ikke 40 år efter hans død - er tildels glemt, skyldes det udelukkende, at han manglede kapital til at tage kampen op med de amerikanske konkurrenter.

Man må jo nemlig ikke tro, at der ikke var andre, der beskæftigede sig med at fremstille sådanne skriveapparater. Til at begynde med tænkte man imidlertid kun på at fremstille et middel for blinde til så let som muligt at meddele sig skriftligt (et sådant apparat var fremstillet allerede 1838). Men Malling Hansen var den første, der fremstillede en virkelig brugbar hurtigskrivningsmaskine. I 1868 udtog en opfinder i Amerika patent på en maskine, der skulle løse samme opgave som Mallings, men at den ikke var nær så god fremstår deraf, at man tilbød den danske opfinder et meget betydeligt beløb for hans patent.

Endelig kan vi ikke slutte en omtale af Rasmus Malling uden at nævne, at han også står som opfinder af en ny kopieringsmetode. Ved de tidligere metoder havde man kun kunnet fremstille 2 til 12 ens eksemplarer, med hans - den såkaldte xerografi - kunne fremstilles et par hundrede, og den stod på det tidspunkt som den simpleste, hurtigste og billigste måde at skaffe sig mange ens eksemplarer på.

I 1924 opstod der en strid mellem professor Hannover og nulevende slægtninge af Rasmus Malling om, hvem der var skrivekuglens opfinder, idet førstnævnte hævdede, at æren tilfaldt kancelliråd J.U Peters, forhen lærer i Flensborg. Uden at komme nærmere ind på striden, skal her blot henvises til fru Johanne Agerskovs Skrift 'Hvem er skrivekuglens opfinder?', hvor hun viser meget klart, at æren tilkommer hendes afdøde fader.

Og for igen at citere Illustret Tidendes nekrolog fra 1890, kunne man minde om, at et lille land 'ikke er gunstigt for udvikling af 'heroer' og Malling Hansen danner ingen undtagelse herfra. En videnskabens pioner er det navn, der med rette tilkommer ham.

Og først og fremmest må vi aldrig glemme, at han var en fader for de ulykkelige børn, der betroedes til hans omsorg, en sand menneskeven og en god mand.

Arild S. Ebbe

Memorial article about Malling-Hansen on the occasion of the centenary of his birth, written by his son-in-law, F. Bech[1]

R Malling-Hansen

The teacher of deaf-mutes – inventor – biologist

1835   - September 5   - 1935

Probably very few of the present teachers for the deaf-mutes have known Malling-Hansen, but for those who have been lucky enough to have met him in the flesh, it will surely be welcome to see that “Nordisk Tidskrift” remembers him at the centenary of his birth; and for those who have not known him personally, I hope it will be a rewarding experience to learn about the special educationalist’s inventions – famous among scientists abroad – as well as about his biological studies who all had their point of departure in, and proceeded side by side with, his work for the cause of the deaf-mutes.

Malling-Hansen was a schoolteacher’s son, but lost his father already as a small boy. By means of financial assistance from an influential friend[2] he enrolled at the Jonstrup College[3] and graduated with distinction, after which he studied theology in Copenhagen and during his period of academic studies was employed as a teacher at the Royal Institute for the Deaf-Mutes in 1859.

At the time Denmark had one other institute for the deaf-mutes, namely the one in the town of Schleswig in the province by the same name, and since the Danish Government needed an education better reflecting Danish traditions, M-H was transferred to the Schleswig Institute  in 1862 and at the beginning of 1864 was promoted to be principal, merely 29 years old. However, due to the war events he was driven away from Schleswig in the same year, and reduced to the status of an ordinary teacher he returned to the capital city and resumed his studies.

However, already the following year he was given compensation and redress. For the principal of the Institute in Copenhagen, Professor Sören Heiberg, with whose daughter RMH had been engaged to be married, was called to be vicar on the island of Möen, and in his stead M-H was constituted and later, after having graduated from university that same year, received his royal appointment.

The going method at the Copenhagen Institute was hand alphabet and signs, but given that there were, parallel to the public institution, a large private institution, Professor Johan Keller’s school for defective speakers, and since this gave origin to a situation of competition – unpleasant for both parties – M-H in 1867 managed to organize it in such a way that all the ‘not properly deaf-mute’ children  were taken directly to the Keller Institution, while the ‘proper deaf-mute’ pupils were placed at the Royal Institute[4]. However, all proper deaf-mute pupils that in addition were mentally deficient were also referred to Prof Keller, who besides his school for the deaf-mutes had also established an institute for the mentally deficient.

Reading the report of the Institute to the Government in 1868 we find speech exercises among the subjects. Perhaps they were not given high priority – on average 6 hours per week in each class – but the institute had by including this acknowledged the justification of working against dumbness (inability to speak). In the years around 1870 M-H then tried with a class of 17 pupils to prove that a group of completely and proper deaf-mute could be taught successfully according to the speech method, and by the time of their confirmation in 1872 this class had achieved a level at which they could, quite skillfully, express themselves orally and lip-read their teacher’s mouth. However, the large number of pupils naturally did not lend itself to this type of teaching, and it was therefore decided in future to separate all pupils whose speech ability was poorly developed.

Support to the new regulation, thus already prepared, was to come from the then teacher at the Institute, Georg Jörgensen. Following a study tour abroad in 1874 to Germany and Switzerland he returned home, enthusiastic for the speech method, but contrary to what was taking place both at the Institute and with Keller he demanded all signs be banned from teaching. However, to implement this type of speech method at the old Institute with its deeply rooted sign language would be impossible, and although M-H was sympathetic to Jörgensen, he did feel that time was not ripe to establish a new institute.

However, in 1879 it appeared that the Institute in Copenhagen did not have capacity to accept more pupils. The M-H put forward a proposal for the establishment of a new institute in Jylland, to be based on pure speech methods. Government and parliament accepted the idea readily, and in 1881 the new government institute in Fredericia was ready for inauguration. Jörgensen was the obvious candidate for the post as principal, and Malling-Hansen was appointed assistant director. According to the Government decision henceforth all proper deaf-mute children were to be enrolled at the Fredericia institute for a one year test period. Following this, children not suitable for the speech method were to be transferred to Copenhagen, and the others were to remain in Fredericia. The expectation was that the two groups would be of equal size. However, after a few years the speech method covered 2/3 of proper deaf-mutes, and since at the time there were sufficient pupils, these were divided into a group A and a group B in accordance with their mental talents.

Prof Keller died suddenly from heart failure in 1884, and since it would be difficult for anybody else to take over the widely ramified organization Keller’s creative talents had generated, and which his organizing skills had kept together, his relatives and the Government ministry easily agreed to work towards a new regulation, whereby the entire institution for the deaf-mutes was to be taken over by Government, while the institutions for the mentally deficient remained a private enterprise with the eldest son, Dr Christian Keller, as principal. The Government set up a commission in 1888, already the following year presenting its report, drafted by Malling-Hansen, in which it proposed to establish a Government institution in Nyborg for the category of ‘not proper deaf-mute’ children. However, M-H were not to witness the inauguration of this institution in 1891, for he collapsed in the street the previous year, on September 27, just like Keller succumbing to heart failure, only 55 years old.

Albeit M-H certainly did make a great and meritorious contribution to the field of the education of deaf-mutes, this however is not what has brought him fame both at home and abroad – our field of work is too small for that. His fame must be attributed to his inventions and to his biological studies.

When teaching deaf-mutes he had experienced that while a person can only write 4 phonetic signs (letters) per second, a trained finger speaker can produce 12 signs at the same time. This led him to the idea whether it would be possible by means of finger movements on a machine to create an easily legible writing, capable of following oral speech, sound by sound. By means of testing the oral speed of speakers in parliament he had further recorded that the speed varied between 10 and 12 sounds per second, in other words quite similar to the finger speed. He then started to construct his typewriter. It consisted of a semi -sphere (hence the name ‘writing ball’), into which were inserted steel pistons or bars with keys of the letters of the alphabet on top. Below the steel pistons the paper was placed on a cylinder plate, which was pushed forward one notch – moved by electricity and by an electromagnet – each time one of the key bars was pressed down. The world’s first typewriter was hereby invented, and in 1870 M-H got his machine patented.

Naturally the writing ball in its first version, constructed by a man who was self-made in the field of poly-technology, had some essential flaws. It weighed 75 kg and cost 1200 kroner, and its electrical connection was not entirely reliable. However, unhesitatingly M-H abandoned electricity and constructed a new machine, in which the cylinder was replaced by a so-called carriage, mechanically moved by pressing down the key bars, and both weight and price were reduced (eventually down to 5 kg and 150 kroner).

In this shape it was shown at the exhibitions in Copenhagen in 1872 and in Vienna in 1873, where it was honored with the highest distinction, and finally in Paris in 1878, where M-H. was awarded the gold medal.

However, approximately at around the same time the American Sholes had finished his machine; it was described in “Scientific American” 1872, and the following year the Remington factory issued its first copies. This meant that the Danish writing ball was in effect already beaten, because in spite of the Government and some private beneficiaries having supported, and being willing to continue, M-H’s invention, in the face of a competing mass production the Danish sponsorship was like a drop in the ocean in relation to the American capital.

Still M-H continued almost until his death to improve on his invention, and also at the Exhibition in Copenhagen in 1888 the writing ball was awarded the highest distinction, but the fact of the matter was already then that it had been surpassed by various American systems.

Hence, the result of this invention was only disappointment and loss, and it was in similar fashion with another smaller invention, the xerography or dry printing which enabled the inventor to make until 100 copies of the original writing ball text, using waxed paper. This technique was surpassed by hectographing.

However, Malling-Hansen was an unfailing optimist, and his continuously enquiring spirit always generated materials for new studies and inventions. The introduction of a new meal regulation at the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes caused him to start daily weighing of the pupils, and in the course of the analysis of the numerical results emerging, with his intuitive view he realized such perspectives that the whole thing was soon put into systematic order: Daily weighing 4 times and simultaneous measuring of the children’s height, and subsequently he also measured the thickness and height of the trees in the institute garden. The result of this research, running for four years, rendered the following remarkable information: A boy aged 9-15 years does not increase his weight gradually and at the same rate each day, week or month of the year, rather in the course of a year there are different periods: A maximum period (August – December); a medium period (December-April); and a minimum period in terms of weight gain (April – July). In the maximum period the weight gain is 3 times as  much as in the medium period, and whatever is gained in the latter is lost in the minimum period. However, in reverse order the big increase in height takes place in the minimum period for the weight gain etc. And concerning the trees M-H found at the same time that the relationship between their gain in breadth and height was closely coinciding with the children’s increase in weight and height in the same period. At an international medical congress in Copenhagen in 1884 M-H presented a report on his research and findings and was met with much attention and lively applause. The results were also published in books before and after the congress, mainly in German language.

But M-H proceeded even further with his investigations. He searched information from, many different locations about oscillations in terms of humidity, atmospheric pressure, ozone concentration and magnetism, among other factors, in order to find, if possible, this unknown Factor X that was the root cause of it all and which he called “growth energy” and connected with solar radiation. However, death put an end also to these research activities, research for future continuation, about which Dr Nylén, Stockholm, gave a lecture in 1930 in Copenhagen. In his lecture he quotes the Biologist Ludvig Feilberg[5], who in his work “Om sjælelig Ringhed” (Translation uncertain: ‘Concerning Inferiority of the Soul’?/JMC) writes: “By the discontinuation of Malling-Hansen’s work we have lost threads that may be very difficult to pick up again”, but he does add his own comment: “Perhaps these words may seem true considering that 40 years have now passed since M-H closed his eyes for ever - - -. However, the rich impulses left by the brilliant principal head of the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes have inspired us. The thread has not been lost, rather it continues to be spinning.”

F. Bech

Mindeartikel om Malling-Hansen i anledning af 100-året for hans fødsel. Skrevet af hans svigersøn, F. Bech. [1]

R Malling-Hansen

Dövstummelæreren - Opfinderen - Biologen

1835 - 5 september - 1935

Der er næppe ret mange af den nulevende Dövstummelærerstand, der har kendt Malling-Hansen, men for dem, der har haft det Held at möde ham i Livet, vil det sikkert være kært, at "Nordisk Tidskrift" mindes ham i Hundredeaaret for hans Fødsel, og for dem, der ikke har kendt ham, haaber jeg, det vil være noget af en Oplevelse at höre om den blandt udenlandske Videnskabs-mænd berömte Dövstummepædagogs Opfindelser og biologiske Studier, der alle havde deres Udgangspunkt i og gik Side om Side med hans Arbejde for Dövstummesagen.

Malling-Hansen var Lærersön, men mistede allerede som lille Dreng sin Far, kom ved en formaaende Vens[2] Hjælp paa Jonstrup Seminarium[3] og bestod Lærereksamen med Udmærkelse, tog derefter til Köbenhavn for at studere Teologi og blev i studietiden ansat som Lærer ved det derværende kgl. Dövstummeinstitut 1859.

Dengang havde Danmark endnu en offentlig Dövstummeanstalt, i byen Slesvig i Provinsen af samme Navn, og da den danske Regering, under Kampen dernede mellem Tysk og Dansk, önskede en mere danskpræget Undervisning, forflyttedes M-H 1862 til Slesviginstituttet og avancerede i Begyndelsen af 1864 til Forstander, kun 29 Aar gammel. Ved Krigsbegivenhederne blev han imidlertid samme Aar fordrevet fra Slesvig, og reduceret til almindelig Lærer vendte han tilbage til Hovedstaden og genoptog sine Studier.

Allerede det følgende Aar gav ham dog oprejsning. Forstanderen for Instituttet i Köbenhavn, Prof. Sören Heiberg, med hvis Datter M-H var blevet forlovet, modtog nemlig 1865 Kald som Sognepræst paa Möen[4], og i hans Sted konstitueredes M-H og erholdt senere efter bestaaet Embedseksamen s.A. [5], kgl. Udnævnelse.

Metoden paa Instituttet i Köbenhavn var dengang Haandalfabetet og Tegn, men da der ved Siden af Statsanstalten trivedes en stor Privatanstalt, Prof. Joh. Kellers Taleskole, og der som Fölge heraf opstod en for begge Parter ubehaglig Konkurrence, fik M-H 1867 Forholdet ordnet saaledes, at alle de uegentlig dövstumme Börn indkaldtes direkte til den Kellerske Anstalt, de egentlige til Instituttet[6]. Dog henvistes ogsaa alle de aandsvage og meget svagt begavede egentlige Dövstumme til Prof. Keller, der jo ved siden af sin Dövstummeskole havde skabt en Aandssvageanstalt.

Naar man nu læser Indberetningen fra 1868 fra Instituttet i Köbenhavn til Ministeriet, vil man blandt Undervisningsfagene ogsaa finde Taleövelser. De dreves vel ikke i noget stort Omfang, gennem-snitlig 6 Timer ugentlig i hver Klasse, men Instituttet havde dog herved anerkendt Rigtigheden med at arbejde hen til Hævningen af Stumheden. I Aarene omkring 1870 sögte M-H derefter med en Klasse paa 17 Elever at före Bevis for, at en Samling lutter egentlige dövstumme med Held kunde undervises efter Talemetoden, og ved Konfirmationen 1872 var samme Klasse naaet til med ganske stor Færdighed at kunne udtrykke sig mundtlig og aflæse fra Lærerens Mund. Men det store Elevtal havde naturligvis ikke været fremmende for denne Undervisning, og det besluttedes derfor i Fremtiden at udskille alle Elever, hvis Taleevne ikke var særlig udviklet.

Stödet til den nye Ordning, som saaledes var forberedt, kom daværende Lærer ved Instituttet, cand. phil. Georg Jörgensen til at give. Efter en Udenlandsrejse 1874 til Tyskland og Svejts kom han hjem, fyldt af Begejstring for Talemetoden, idet han dog, i Modsætning til hvad der fandt Sted baade paa Instituttet og hos Keller, forlangte alle Tegn fortrængte fra Undervisningen. At sætte denne Form for Talemetode igennem paa det gamle Institut med dets indgroede Tegnsprog vilde imidlertid være en Umulighed, og skönt M-H stillede sig forstaaende over for Jörgensen, mente han dog, at Tidspunktet til Oprettelsen af et nyt Institut ikke var inde.

I Aaret 1879 viste det sig imidlertid, at Instituttet i Köbenhavn ikke var i Stand til at optage flere Elever. Saa fremkom M-H med Forslag til Oprettelse af et nyt Institut i Jylland, grundet paa den rene Talemetode. Det fandt velvillig Modtagelse hos Regering og Rigsdag, og i 1881 stod det nye Statsinstitut i Fredericia færdigt til at tages i Brug. Jörgensen var selvskreven som Forstander, og Malling-Hansen blev Underdirektör. Efter Ministeriets Bestemmelse skulde herefter alle egentlig dövstumme Börn indkaldes til Fredericia og underkastes en eetaarig Pröve. Efter denne skulde de Börn, der ikke egnede sig til Talemetoden, overföres til Köbenhavn. Resten forblive i Fredericia. Man formente, at en Deling i to lige store Dele vilde blive det normale. Efter nogle Aars Forlöb udvidedes Taleundervisningen imidlertid til at omfatte 2/3 af de egentlig Dövstumme, og da der paa den Tid var Elever nok, deltes disse efter Begavelsen i en A- og B-Afdeling.

Prof. Keller afgik pludselig ved Døden 1884, ramt af et Hjerteslag, og da det vilde være vanskeligt for en anden at overtage den vidtforgrenede Virksomhed, Kellers skabende evner havde frembragt, og hans organisatoriske Dygtighed holdt sammen paa, blev hans efterladte og Ministeriet let enige om at stræbe hen mod en ny Ordning, ved hvilken hele Dövstummeafdelingen skulde overgaa til Staten, medens Aandssvageanstalterne bibeholdtes som en selvejende Institution, med Professorens ældste Sön, Dr. Chr. Keller som Leder. Der blev nedsat en Kommission 1888, som allerede næste Aar afgav en Betænkning, affattet af Malling-Hansen, hvori der foresloges at bygge en Statsanstalt for de uegentlig dövstumme Börn i Nyborg. Dennes Aabning 1891 kom M-H dog ikk til at opleve, idet han den 27. September Aaret i Forvejen styrtede om paa Gaden, ramt ligesom Keller af Hjerteslag, kun 55 Aar gammel.

Skönt M-H saaledes ogsaa paa Dövstummevæsenets Omraade har udfört et stort og fortjenstfuldt Arbejde, er det dog ikke det, der har bragt hans Navn til at lyde baade hjemme og i Udlandet, dertil er vort Fag for lille. Hans Berömmelse maa tilskrives hans Opfindelser og hans biologiske Studier.

Han havde under sin Gerning erfaret, at medens man kun kan skrive 4 Lydtegn (bogstaver) i Sekundet, kan man, ved övelse, i Fingersproget naa til at frembringe 12 i samme Tid. Herved var han kommet til at tænke paa, om man ikke ved Fingerbevægelser paa en Maskine kunde skabe en tydelig Skrift, der kunde fölge Talen Lyd for Lyd. Han havde desuden i Rigsdagen gjort sine Studier over Talehurtigheden og konstateret, at denne repræsenterede 10-12 Lyde i Sekundet, altsaa nogenlunde svarende til Fingerhastigheden. Derefter tog han fat paa konstruktionen af sin Skrivemaskine. Den bestod af en Halvkugle (deraf Navnet Skrivekugle), i hvilken Staalstilke med Bogstavknapper i Enden var stukket igennem. Under Staalstilkene var Papiret anbragt over en Cylinderplade, der ved en elektrisk Ström og en Elektromagnet skubbedes et lille Stykke frem, hver gang en af Tasterne trykkedes ned. Den förste Skrivemaskine i Verden var dermed opfundet, og 1870 fik M-H Eneret paa sit Apparat.

Naturligvis havde Skrivekuglen i sin förste Skikkelse som konstrueret af en paa Polyteknikkens Område selfmade Mand sine væsentlige Mangler. Den vejede 75 kg og kostede 1200 Kr, og dens elektriske forbindelse var ikke helt driftsikker. Men resolut forlod M-H Elektriciteten og konstruerede en ny Maskine, hvor Cylinderen var aflöst af en saakaldt Vogn, der bevægedes paa mekanisk Vis ved Anslag paa Tasterne, og baade Pris og Vægt reduceredes (bragtes endog til sidst ned til resp. 150 Kr. og 5 kg.

I denne Skikkelse fremstilledes den paa Udstillingerne i Köbenhavn i 1872 og i Wien i 1873, hvor den hædredes med höjeste Udmærkelse, og endelig i Paris i 1878, hvor M-H. erholdt Guldmedaille.

Men omtrent samtidig havde Amerikaneren Sholes sin Maskine færdig, den stod beskrevet i "Scientific American" 1872, og næste Aar udsendte Remingtonfabrikken sine förste Eksemplarer af den. Hermed var den danske Skrivekugle saa at sige straks slaaet ud, thi vel havde baade Stat og Privatmænd stöttet og vilde vedblivende stötte M-H's Opfindelse, men her, hvor der var Tale om Massefabrikation, var den danske Hjælp som en Draabe i Havet over for den amerikanske Kapital.

Alligevel vedblev M-H omtrent lige til sin Död at beskæftige sig med Forbedringer af sin Opfindelse, og ogsaa paa Udstillingen i Köbenhavn 1888 fik Skrivekuglen höjeste Udmærkelse, men Sandheden var allerede dengang, at den var overflöjet af forskellige amerikanske Systemer.

 Resultatet af denne Opfindelse blev altsaa kun Skuffelse og Tab, og paa lignende Maade gik det med en anden mindre Opfindelse, Xerografien eller Törtrykket, der havde sat Opfinderen i Stand til ved Hjælp af Vokspapir at tage indtil 100 Kopier af den originale Kugleskrift. Den blev overflöjet af Hektografien.

Men Malling-Hansen var en födt Lysseer, og hans ustandseligt  sögende Aand fandt altid Stof til nye Studier og Opfindelser. Indförelsen af et nyt Bespisningsreglement paa Dövstummeinstituttet gav Anledning til daglige Vejninger af Eleverne, og under Behandlingen af de Tal, der fremkom, fremstillede der sig for hans intuitive Blik saadanne Perspektiver, at det hele blev sat i System: daglig Vejning 4 gange og samtidig Maaling af Börnenes Höjde, senere tillige Tykkelsen og Höjden af Træerne i Instituttets Have. Resultatet af denne gennem 4 Aar fortsatte Undersögelse gav fölgende opsigtsvækkende Oplysninger: En 9-15 aarig Drengs Vægtforögelse sker ikke gradvis gennem Aarets Dage, Uger og Maaneder, tværtimod viser et gennemlevet Aar forskellige Perioder: En Maximums- (August-December), en Mellem- (December-April) og en Minimumsperiode (April-Juli). I Maximumsperioden er Vægtforögelsen 3 Gange saa stor som i Mellemperioden, og hvad der vindes i denne, tabes i Minimumsperioden. Omvendt sker den store Forögelse i Höjdevæksten i Vægtperiodernes Minimumsperiode o.s.v. Og hvad Træerne angaar, kunde M-H samtidig konstatere, at Forholdet mellem disses Tilvækst i Tykkelse og Höjde paa det nærmeste stemmede med Börnenes Tiltagende i Vægt og Höjde paa samme Tid. Paa en international Lægekongres i Köbenhavn i 1884 gav M.H. under stor Opmærksomhed og levende Bifald en Redegörelse for sine Studier og Opfindelser, der dels för, dels efter Kongressen fremkom i Bogform, væsentlig paa Tysk.

Men M-H gik endnu videre i sine Undersögelser. Han sögte allevegnefra Efterretning om tilsvarende Svingninger i Luftens Fugtighed, Lufttrykket, Luftens Ozonindhold og Magnetisme m.m. for om muligt at finde dette X, der var Aarsag i det altsammen, og som han kaldte Vækstenergien og selv satte i forbindelse med Sollyset. Men ogsaa for disse hans Forskninger satte Döden Punktum, Forskning til senere Videreförelser, hvorom Dr. Gustav Nylén, Stockholm, senest 1930 holdt Foredrag i Köbenhavn. I dette Foredrag citerer han Biologen Ludv. Feilberg[7], der i sin bog om sjælelig Ringhed skriver: "Der er ved Standsningen af Malling-Hansens Arbejde tabt Traade, som det maaske vil falde vanskeligt at faa op paany", men tilföjer for egen Regning: "Maaske kan disse Ord synes sande ved Tanken paa, at det nu er 40 år siden, at M-H for stedse lukkede sine Øjne - - -. Men de rige Impulser, Dövstummeinstituttets engang saa geniale Chef har givet os, har inspireret os. Et Problems Lösning har medfört et nyt Problem. Traaden er ikke tabt, den spindes videre."

F. Bech

Opfindernes Liv, Bind 1. Udgivet på Nordisk Forlag i 1924

                Av Fritz August Bech

             Rasmus Malling-Hansen

   Et Monradsk [1]Hovede, med sjælfulde Øjne, der saa mere indad end udad; en Officersskikkelse, spænstig og beleven i Optræden - saadan saa Malling-Hansen ud, da han stod i sin fulde Kraft.

  Hans Rasmus Malling Johan Hansen, som hans fulde Navn lød, fødtes den 5. Septbr. 1835 i Hunseby Skole ved Maribo og fik Navn efter derværende Lærer Rasmus Malling, en Normand af Fødsel. Hans Fader, der som Hjælpelærer i Hunseby var blevet gift med Rasmus Mallings Plejedatter, var netop, efter fuldendt Eksamen, blevet enelærer i Havlykke, ikke langt fra Hunseby, da han pludselig bortrevedes af Tyfus, efterladende sig Hustru og 3 smaa Drenge, af hvilke Malling-Hansen, kun 4 Aar gammel, var den ældste. Det var svære Tider for den unge Enke og smaa Kaar at gaa ind under, skønt Plejefaderen, i hvis Hjem hun havde født sine Børn, straks overtog Forsørgelsen af hele Familien, mod at Datteren, som hidtil, vedblev at styre hans Hus.

  Rasmus Malling, der saaledes ogsaa blev Plejefar for Malling-Hansen, var en sirlig og stilfuld, selskabelig skolet ældre Herre, der i sin Tid havde faaet sin Opdragelse paa Løvenborg[2] sammen med de unge Baroner, Moderen en kærlig og ualmindelig dygtig Kvinde, og Opdragelsen gennem disse to satte ganske naturligt sit Stempel på Drengen: Malling-Hansen havde hele sit liv let ved at bevæge sig blandt Folk og samtidig at gøre sig selv og sine Meninger gældende uden Spor af Paagaaenhed, i Kraft af en harmonisk Blanding af Beskedenhed og Selvfølelse.

  Som Barn viste han sig meget lærenem i alle Retninger, og hans Plejefaders nye Hjælpelærer, en fremadstræbende ung Mand, tog sig meget af ham uden for den egentlige Skoleundervisning; Matematik interesserede ham stærkt, og han viste gode Anlæg for Tegning. Nogen større Udsigt for den begavede Dreng til at vinde frem til de højere Stillinger i Samfundet var der dog ikke; foreløbig kunde der være Tale om, som Følge af Tegnetalentet, at faa ham anbragt i Malerlære, naar Konfirmationen var heldigt overstaaet. Forberedelsen hertil, der foregik hos den senere Domprovst Gude[3], gjorde stærkt Indtryk paa Drengen, og en Dag betroede han Præsten, at han ogsaa selv saa inderligt gerne vilde være Præst. Gude slog det imidlertid hen, og Malling-Hansen kom i Malerlære i Maribo.

  Om Gude nu alligevel har bragt Drengens Ønske videre, eller Initiativet kom fra Greven selv, faar staa hen, Faktum er, at han og hans Moder nogen Tid efter fik Tilsigelse fra Lehnsgreve F. M. Knuth[4] om at møde paa Knuthenborg, og Resultatet af Sammenkomsten blev, at Greven paatog sig at holde den unge Malling-Hansen paa Jonstrup Seminarium. Herfra dimitteredes han i 1854 med Udmærkelse, og et Aars Tid var han derefter Hjælpelærer i Maglemer nær Hunseby, medens han samtidig gav nogle ugentlige Timer paa Knuthenborg. Saa endelig gik hans kære Ønske i Opfyldelse: han trofaste Støtte, Lehnsgreven, sendte han til Hovedstaden for at studere til Præst. Efter 3 Aars privat Forberedelse blev han Student med første Karakter, og tog saa fat paa Teologien.

  For en 23-årig Mand med Malling-Hansens Natur var der imidlertid noget meget utilfredsstillende ved at leve af en andens Pengepung, og da han gennem en Bekendt, der var Lærer paa Døvstummeinstituttet, erfarede, at der var en Plads ledig, søgte og fik han den 1859. Herved var han kommet ind paa en Bane, der skulde blive bestemmende for hans Fremtid: Døvstummeunder-visningen, der ved sin Ejendommelighed straks tog ham fangen, blev Udgangspunktet for alle hans Idéer og Planer og tillige den faste Borg, hvortil han stadig søgte tilbage, naar Modgangen meldte sig. Foreløbig blev han dog kun et Par Aar paa Døvstummeinstituttet, saa fik han Betænkeligheder paa Teologiens Vegne, kom paa Regensen[5] og læste af fuld Kraft til Embedseksamen, indtil Studeringerne pludselig afbrødes ved et Tilbud, Malling-Hansen, der nu var blevet forlovet med Døvstummeforstander, Professor Heibergs Datter, mente ikke at kunne lade gaa fra sig: Ministeriet ønskede ved Døvstummeinstituttet i Slesvig en dansk Mand ansat som Lærer, eventuelt senere som Forstander, og begge dele blev Malling-Hansen 1862-64. Krigsbegivenhederne [6] fordrev ham fra Slesvig, og han tog atter fat paa Studierne, der skyndsomst muligt afsluttedes med Embeds-eksamen 1835, efter at han kort forinden ved sin Svigerfaders forflyttelse var blevet konstitueret som Forstander for Instituttet i København.

  Her var det saa, at han, i slutningen af Tresserne, samtidig med at gennemføre den Organisation af det danske Døvstummevæsen, som i Hovedsagen endnu er gældende, gjorde den Opfindelse, Skrivekuglen, der skulde gøre  hans Navn berømt over hele Verden, men bragte ham selv saa liden personling Vinding, at han døde nærmest som en fattig Mand.

                                        Af Johanne Agerskov

     Hans Rasmus Malling Johan Hansen fødtes den 5.te September 1835 i Hunseby paa Lolland. Faderen var Hjælpelærer ved Hunseby Skole, blev kort efter Enelærer i en nærliggende Landsby, men bortreves pludselig af Tyfus efterladende sig Hustru og tre smaa Drenge. Malling-Hansen, den ældste af Børnene var da knap fire Aar gammel. Som Barn viste han sig meget lærenem i alle Retninger, interesserede sig meget for Matematikk og viste gode Anlæg for Tegning. Efter sin Konfirmation kom han i Malerlære, men hans Ønsker gik i andre Retninger og Præstegerningen var disse Ønskers Maal. Lehnsgreve F. M. Knuth tog sig af den begavede unge Mand og bekostede hans Uddannelse til Seminarist paa Jonstrup Seminarium, hvorfra han dimitteredes 1854 med Udmærkelse. Efterat Malling-Hansen i et Par Aar, dels havde virket som Hjælpelærer ved en Skole i sin Fødeeegn, dels som Huslærer, sendte Lehnsgreven ham til København for at han kunde blive Student. Efter 3 Aars privat Forberedelse blev han Student med første Karakter, hvorefter han tog fat paa det teologiske Studium. Men i Længden blev det svært for Malling-Hansen at modtage Lehnsgrevens trofaste Støtte, hvorfor han søgte en ledig Lærerplads paa det Kgl. Døvstumme-institut i København. Et Par Aar virkede han her som Lærer, kom derefter paa Regensen og læste videre til sin Embedseksamen. Atter afbrødes hans Studeringer ved hans Ansættelse som Lærer, senere som Forstander ved Døvstummeinstituttet i Slesvig 1862-1864. –

     Krigsbegivenhederne fordrev ham fra Slesvig, han tog paany fat paa sine Studier, der afsluttedes med Embedseksamen 1865. Omtrent samtidig blev han Forstander ved det Kgl. Døvstummeinstitut i København. I denne Virksomhed har han nedlagt sig stor Fortjeneste af Døvstummeundervisningen, da det væsentlig skyldtes ham at Talemetoden indførdtes i Danmark i Stedet for Tegnmetoden.

     Under sin Gerning her ved at beskæftige sig med de døvstummes Haandalfabet gjorde han den Iagttagelse, at man ved at ”tale” med Fingrene kunde gengive c: 12 Lydtegn i Sekundet – med almindelig Skrift kan man kun gengive c: 4 Lydtegn i Sekundet – dette bragte ham paa den Tanke, at det maatte være mulig at konstruere en Maskine, som kunde overføre Fingrenes Bevægelser til Skrift med samme Fart.

     Hvornaar den første Idé til ”Skrivekuglen” tog Form hos Malling-Hansen vides ikke med Sikkerhed, den foreliggende Litteratur er ikke helt enig paa det Punktet. Tallene 1865-67-69 opgives, men det er ikke lykkedes at fastslaa et bestemt Arstal. Efter nyere Undersøgelser er der dog fremkommet saa meget, at man efter al Sandsynlighed kan regne med en Model færdig konstrueret i Vinteren 67-68 eller i Vinteren 68-69, men først i 1870 efter at Malling-Hansen havde faaet Patent paa sin Skrivemaskine fremkom den offentlig.

     Denne Maskine bestod af to koncentriske Kugleskaller – deraf Navnet ”Skrivekuglen”. Typestængerne var stillet radiært mod et fælles Centrum. Paa Oversiden af Kuglefladen sad Typestængernes Hoveder. I Centrum for Kuglen lagdes Papiret Paa en bevægelig Cylinder-plade, der ved en elektrisk Strøm og en Elektromagnet skubbedes et lille Stykke frem, hver Gang en Tast trykkedes ned. Typestængerne var anbragt i Spiralfjedre, saaledes at de efter Nedtrykningen automatisk blev trukket op i deres Hvilestilling. I sin Patentansøkning – for at vise hvorfor Kugleoverfladen er valgt – skriver Pastor Malling-Hansen: ”Da alle Stempelstænger er lige lange og have en lige lang Vej at gennemløbe til den fælles Flade, de skulle slaa an imod, kommer altsaa Overfladen af Stempelhovederne; Knappen eller Tangenten, til at ligge i en Kugleoverflade. Hermed muliggøres at anslaa med en høj Grad af Hurtighed; de ligge i alt Fald i en for Fingrene til Anslag langt bekvemmere Stilling, end om de laa i en plan Flade.”-

     Malling-Hansen arbejdede stadig videre paa sin Maskine, gik bort fra den elektriske Bevægemaade, konstruerede en ny Maskine, hvor den saakaldte ”Vogn”, der bar Papiret, ved Kraften fra selve Anslaget flyttedes en Tandhjulstak frem. På Udstillingerne i København 1872 og i Wien 1873 hædredes Skrivekuglen med de højeste Udmærkelser – paa Udstillingen i Paris 1878 fik en yderligere forbedret Maskine Guldmedalje. 1972 modtog Malling-Hansen Fortjenestemedaljen i Guld.-

     Trods alle Forbedringer af Skrivekuglen blev den overfløjet af de forskellige udenlandske Systemer og Resultatet af hans Opfindelse blev derfor kun Skuffelse og Tab.-

     Xerografien eller Tørtrykket – der var Forløber for Hektografien – var ligeledes Malling-Hansens Opfindelse, men ogsaa paa dette Område blev han kun ”Sædemanden der saaede, men ikke høstede.”

     Trods Modgang og Skuffelser kastede Malling-Hansen sig ind i nye videnskabelige Undersøgelser. Gennem disse Undersøgelser førtes han til den Overbevisning: ”at alle Organiske Funktioner paa Jorden er i uafbrudte og samstemmende Svingninger, til hvilke Impulsen udgaar fra Himmellegemer, særlig Solen.” (”Perioder i Børns Vækst og Solens Varme.” 1886). Paa den internationale Lægekongres i København i 86 gav han, under stærkt Bifald fra Lægevidenskabens Spidser, et fyldig Resumé af sine Undersøgelser.-

     Den 27. September 1890 døde han ramt af et Hjerteslag. En arbejdsom, højt begavet Mands Arbejde var endt; men ved hans Død standsedes Undersøgelser, som det maaske vil blive vanskelig at optage paa ny.

     Den 12.te Marts 1924 fremkom Professor H. I. Hannover med en Artikel i Berlingske Tidende, i denne Artikel meddelte han at den nylig afdøde Kancelliraad Peters var Opfinder ikke alene af ”Vægtstangsprincippet” i de nu brugte Maskiner, men tillige af Skrivekuglen. Som bekendt har flere Opfindere allerede længe før Peters anvendt Vægtstangsprincippet i deres Skrivemaskiner, Peters er derfor ikke første Opfinder af dette princip. Omtalte Peters havde skænket teknologisk Samling en Overdel til en Skrivemaskine. Denne Overdel var meget primitivt Udført og i høj Grad ufærdig. Tangent- og Typestænger er stærkt krummede og anbragt i en plan Flade, af denne Grund mente Professoren at Peters først maatte have konstrueret en Overdel, hvor Tangent- og Typestænger var anbragt gennem en Halvkugle. Professorens Teori gaar altsaa ud paa, at en Kugleoverflade er et ringere Princip end den plane Flade. Ovenstaaende Uddrag af Malling-Hansens Patentansøgning viser imidlertid, at den plane Flade er et ringere Princip end Kugleoverfladen. Da Peters var meget gammel, c: 90 Aar og meget døv, har han uden Tvivl misforstaaet Professorens Spørgsmaal, saa han har bekræftet i Stedet for at benægte Professorens Antagelse: at han før den plane Flade havde anvendt en Kugleoverflade. Senere undersøgelser har desuden vist, at Peters har gjort sig skyldig i en Forvanskning af de faktiske Forhold, idet han i Ill: Zeit: 1872 har givet en Beskrivelse af en Skrivemaskine paa hvilken han lige havde opnaaet Patent i Danmark, som om denne der bliver omtalt i Bladet, var opfundet og patenteret i 1868. Dette er imidlertid ikke Tilfælde. I Aaret 1868 havde han konstrueret en Skrivemaskine, hvis ydre Form var som et taffelformigt Pianoforte, men noget mindre i Størrelsen. Altsaa en meget stor og sikkert uhandlelig Maskine. Den Maskine – Maskinen fra 72 – som stod beskrevet i Bladet er derimod meget mindre og af en ganske anden Form. I Modsætning til Maskinene fra 68, der stod på Gulvet, kunde denne anbringes paa et Bord, altsaa sikkert en mere praktisk og lettere haandterlig Maskine. Saa vidt det kan skønnes – der findes ingen Tegninger af Maskinen fra 68, var begge Maskiner konstrueret over Vægtstangsprincippet.-

     Ovenstaaende Opdagelse svækker saaledes tillige i høj Grad de Meddelelser som Peters inden sin Død har givet Prof: Hannover med Hensyn til den omtalte Overdel. Og da Malling-Hansen selv i sin Patentansøgning har vist, at den plane Flade er ringere end Kugleoverfladen kan Retten til at kalde sig ”Skrivekuglens” Opfinder under ingen Omstændigheder tilfalde afdøde Kancelliraad Peters. Malling-Hansen maa, som hidtil, staa som Opfinder af den specielle Skrivemaskine, der kaldes ”Skrivekuglen”.-

Rasmus Malling-Hansen  -  the Inventor of the Writing Ball[1]

                        By Johanne Agerskov[2]

    Hans Rasmus Malling Johan Hansen was born September 5, 1835 in the small village of Hunseby, situated in the island of Lolland in the southeastern part of Denmark. His father was an assistant teacher at Hunseby school, but shortly after Rasmus’ birth he became sole teacher at a school in a nearby village. However, he suddenly died from typhoid fever, leaving a wife and three small boys. Malling-Hansen, the eldest, was at the time not yet four years old. Already as a child he showed himself to be an apt and quick learner in many different areas. He was very keen on mathematics and showed a natural talent for drawing. After his confirmation he was apprenticed with a house painter (decorator), but his interests and ambitions had a different direction, his goal being to serve the church as a minister. Count F.M. Knuth assumed responsibility for the gifted young man and sponsored his education at the Teacher Education College of Jonstrup, from where he graduated in 1854 with distinction[3].After a couple of years working as a tutor and as an assistant teacher at a school close to his home, the count sent him to Copenhagen to study for his General Certificate A-level. After 3 years of study with private tuition he got his certificate with the highest possible marks, after which he enrolled at university for theological studies. However, in the long run it became difficult for Malling-Hansen to remain dependent upon the loyal financial support of the count, and hence he applied for a teaching vacancy at the Royal Institute for the Deaf-Mute in Copenhagen. He taught there for a couple of years, after which he was accepted at the prestigious boarding facility in Copenhagen known as “Regensen” and he resumed his theological studies. Before he could finish his studies he was appointed as a teacher – and later promoted to the position of principal – at the Institute for the Deaf-Mute in Schleswig 1862 – 1864. The war between Germany and Denmark drove him away from Schleswig, and he returned to his theological studies, graduating from university in 1865. Around the same time he was appointed principal of the Royal Institute for the Deaf-Mute in Copenhagen. In this position he made major achievements in the field of the teaching of deaf-mutes, being the primus motor in the introduction of the so called “speech method” in Denmark, instead of the “sign method”.

   Working with the hand alphabet of the deaf-mute he observed that communicating with the fingers (sign language) it was possible to produce around 12 signs per second; using ordinary letters it is only possible to achieve around 4 signs per second, and this observation led him to the idea that it should be possible to construct a machine capable of transforming the movements of the fingers into script at the same velocity.

   We do not know for certain when the first idea of the “Writing Ball” germinated and took shape with Malling-Hansen; the written sources are not in complete agreement on this point. The years 1865-67-69 have been suggested, but we are not definitely certain about the year. However, the latest investigations suggest that it is likely he had a finished a model either during the winter of 1867-68 or 1868-69, but only in 1870 – after Malling-Hansen had patented his typewriter – was it shown publicly.   This machine had two concentric spheres or balls – hence the name “Writing Ball”. The type bars were positioned in a radial pattern in relation to a joint center. On the top of the sphere were the heads of the type bars. At the centre of the ball the paper was put on a moveable cylinder-plate. By means of electrical impulses and an electromagnet the plate was pushed a little bit forward every time a key was pressed down. The type bars were mounted in coil springs, and thus they automatically reverted to their position of rest after having been depressed. In his patent application – and in order to show why he chose the spherical shape – Rev. Malling-Hansen states: “Since all the piston rods are equally long and are at an equally long distance to the joint centre onto which they strike, the surface of the piston heads – the button or key – will consequently be in a spherical shape. It this way it is made possible to strike at high speed; they are positioned in such a way that it is much more comfortable for the fingers to type, than if the keys were positioned on a plane surface”. -   Malling-Hansen continuously worked to improve his machine; he abandoned the electrical motion and constructed a new machine, where the so called “carriage” that sustains the paper is moved forward one cog by means of the force of the typing itself. At the world exhibitions in Copenhagen in 1872 and in Vienna in 1873 the writing ball was honoured with the highest distinctions, and at the exhibition in Paris in 1878 a further refined model of the machine was awarded the gold medal. In 1872 Malling-Hansen was awarded the Royal Gold Decoration for Meritorious Services . -    In spite of all the continuous improvements of the writing ball it was surpassed by the various foreign systems and the result of his invention ended in disappointment and losses. -   The xerographic print, also called dry print –  a precursor of the hectographic process – was also an invention by Malling-Hansen, but also in this area he was to be “The sower that sowed but did not reap”.   In spite of adversities and disappointments, Malling-Hansen launched into new scientific investigations. The research led him to the conviction: “That all organic elements on Earth are in perpetual and coinciding oscillations, caused by impulses from celestial bodies, in particular the Sun” (“Periods in the Growth of Children and Solar Heat”, 1886). At the international medical congress in Copenhagen in 1884 he presented an expansive summary of his investigations and was met with strong applause by the leading men of medical science.   On September 27, 1890, he passed away, victim of heart failure. A hardworking and highly talented man’s work ended abruptly; this caused a discontinuation of investigations, which may be difficult to resume.

   On March 12, 1924 Professor H.I.Hannover[4] published an article in “Berlingske Tidende” in which he claimed that the recently deceased counsellor Peters was the inventor not only of the “principle of the lever” in machinery used at the time but also of the writing ball. It is a well-known fact that several inventors – much before Peters – have used the principle of the lever in their typewriters, and Peters is therefore not the first inventor of this principle[5]. The said Mr Peters had donated the top part of a typewriter to the Technological Collection[6]. This upper part was executed very primitively and in a very much unfinished state. The keyrods and typebars are heavily curved and positioned on a plane surface; for this reason, the professor was of the opinion that Mr Peters must previously have constructed an upper part, where the keyrods and typebars were located on a hemisphere. In other words, the hypothesis of the professor is that a spherical surface is an inferior design in relation to the plane surface. However, the above excerpt from Malling-Hansen’s patent application shows that the plane surface as a technical principle is inferior compared to the spherical surface. Since Peters was very old – around 90 years – and also very much hard of hearing, he has undoubtedly misunderstood the professor’s questions, leading him to confirm instead of rejecting the assumption of the professor: that he had initially used a spherical surface and later on the plane surface. In addition to that, subsequent investigations have shown that Peters is guilty of distorting the facts: In “Illustrierte Zeitung” 1872 he described a typewriter for which he had recently acquired the patent in Denmark, alleging that the specimen presented in the periodical had been invented and patented in 1868. However, this is not the case. In 1868 he had constructed a typewriter with an exterior appearance similar to a square piano, but somewhat smaller. In other words a very big and undoubtedly unwieldy machine. However, the machine – the one from 1872 – described in the German periodical is much smaller and shaped very differently. In contrast to the machine from 1868 that was supported by table-high legs, the latter model could be placed on a table – hence most probably a more practical and handy machine. As far as we can assess – and there are no drawings of the machine from 1868 – both typewriters used the principle of the lever in their design. –

   In summary, the facts revealed above very much weaken the information Peters provided before his death to professor Hannover in relation to the alleged upper part. And since Malling-Hansen himself in his patent application has shown that the plane surface is inferior in relation to the spherical surface, the right to call himself “the inventor of the writing ball” can under no circumstances be allotted to the late counsellor Peters. Malling-Hansen remains, as before, the inventor of the special typewriter denominated “the Writing Ball”.

CB: Fakta om Rasmus Malling-Hansen

Fra bogen "Danmarks Præstehistorie 1869 - 1884"  af Sofus Elvius[1]  [2]

548  Døvstummeinstitutet

(Præsten er tillige Forstander og Førstelærer ved Institutet).

Hans Rasmus Malling Johan Hansen 5 september 1835 Hunseby, Fader Johan Frederik Hansen.  lærer i Havlykke, Østofte Sogn.  Moder Julie Marie Cathrine Matzen.  Seminarist fra Jonstrup 23/6 1854 (udmærket duelig); Hjælpelærer Maglemer Skole, Hunseby Sogn 1/7 54 til 30/6 1855. Opholdt sig derefter et Aar i Kbh; Student privat 1858; Lærer ved Døvstummeinstitutet i Kbh 10/1 1859 - 30/9 1861; Lærer ved Døvstummeinstitutet i Slesvig By 1/10 1862. Konstitueret Forstander og Førstelærer samme sted 23/4 1863.

Kongelig udnævnt  27/1 1864. afsat af Tyskerne 28/10 1864[3]. Konstitueret Forstander ved Døv-stummeinstituttet i Kbh. 1/6 1865. Kandidat 27/6 1865[4].  Ordineret som Præst 6/9 1865. Foretog i 1868 med en Statsunderstøttelse af 1600 Kr. en Rejse for at gøre sig bekjendt med Døvstumme-undervisningen i Tyskland, Østrig, Svejts, Frankrig og Holland; deltog i 1876 i en Kongres i Stock-holm af "Abnormskolens[5] Lærere i Norden". Ridder af Vasaordenen[6] 26/10 samme Aar. R[7] 2/2 1880.  Underdirektør for Døvstummeinstitutet i Fredericia 13/9 1880.

Er Opfinder af en Skrivemaskine "Skrivekuglen", den første som kan skrive hurtigere end Pennen; har til Forsøg med og Udbedring af den erholdt Understøttelse af Indenrigsministeriet, Reiersenske Fond, Classenske Fideikommis og Hjelmstjerne-Rosencroneske Stift[8]. Fortjenst-medaille i Guld [9]  31/5 1872 og den østrigske Guldmedalje "literis artibus"; for Skrivekuglen modtog han Første Medaille på den skandinaviske Udstilling i Kbh i 1872; Vortschrittes Medaille paa Verdensudstil-lingen i Wien i 1873 og Guldmedaille paa Pariserudstillingen 1878. Til at foretage Undersøgelser angaaende Periodiciteten i det opvoxende menneskelige Legemes Vægt og Højde blev der i 1883 tilstaaet ham 6000 Kr. af Staten og 4000 Kr. af Carlsbergfondet. Har udgivet: Forslag om at oprette et Døvstummeinstitut i Jylland 1880; Ueber Periodicität im Gewicht der Kinder an täglichen Wägungen, 1-2 Kopenhagen 1883 - 84[10]. 1 gang gift i Kjeldby Kirke 8/9 1865 m Cathrine Georgia Heiberg, Datter af 496 [11], født 27/10 1841 i Kbh. Død 3/10 1876. 2 gang gift i Matthæus Kirke  19/11 1880 m Anna Cathrina Maria Steenstrup, f. 9/11 1842. Fader Michael Vogelius Steenstrup, Byfoged i Frederikshavn, Herredsfoged i Horns Herred. Søn af Joh. Vogelius Steenstrup til Skelund-V. Død 23/1 1840. Moder Abelone Antoinette Lyngbye.

Facts about Rasmus Malling-Hansen in: “Clerical History of Denmark 1869-1884 by Sofus Elvius[1]  [2]

# 548  The Institute for the Deaf-Mutes

(The  Minister is also principal and head teacher of the institute)

Hans Rasmus Malling Johan Hansen born 5/9 1835 in Hunseby; father Johan Frederik Hansen, teacher at Havlykke,  Østofte parish. Mother Julie Marie Cathrine Matzen. Graduated from the teacher training college of Jonstrup 23/6 1854 with distinction; assistant teacher at Maglemer School, Hunseby parish from 1/7 1854 until 30/6 1855. After that he spent a year in Copenhagen; school-leaving certificate after private studies in 1858; teacher at the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes in Copenhagen from 10/1 1859 until 30/9 1861; teacher at the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes in the town of Schleswig from 1/10 1862. Acting principal and head teacher at this institute from 23/4 1863.

Appointed by royal decree 27/1 1864, dismissed by the German[3] administration 28/10 1864. Acting principal of the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes in Copenhagen from 1/6 1865. Graduated[4] on 27/6 1865. Ordained as minister on 6/9 1865. With state sponsorship of 1600 kroner he travelled in 1868 to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands in order to study the teaching of deaf-mutes in those countries; in 1876 he participated in a congress in Stockholm organized for special education[5] teachers in Scandinavia. Was awarded the decoration of Knight of the Order of Vasa[6] on 26/10 1876. Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog[7] 2/2 1880. Deputy principal of the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes in Fredericia 13/9 1880.

Inventor of a typewriter, the “writing ball”, the first such machine capable of writing quicker than the pen; for trials and for refining this machine he has received financial support from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Rejsersen Fund, the Classen Trust, and the Hjelmstjerne-Rosencrone foundation[8]. The Decoration for Meritorious Services in gold[9] 31/5 1872 and the Austrian gold medal “Literis Artibus”; for the writing ball he received First Class Medal at the Scandinavian Exhibition in Copenhagen in 1872, as well as “Vortschrittes Medaille” (Progress Medal) at the world exhibiltion in Vienna in 1873 and the Gold Medal at the Paris exhibition in 1878. In 1883 he was granted 6000 kroner by the State and 4000 kroner from the Carlsberg Foundation for research concerning periodicity in the growth of the human body in terms of weight and height. Has published: “Proposal  for the Establishment of an Institute for the Deaf-Mute in Jutland” 1880; “Über Periodicität im Gewicht der Kinder an täglichen Wägungen”[10], part 1-2, Copenhagen 1883-84[11]. Married first time in the church of Kjeldby 8/9 1865 with Cathrine Georgia Heiberg, daughter of # 496[12], born 27/10 1841 in Copenhagen, dead 3/10 1876. Married second time in the church of Matthæus 19/11 1880 with Anna Cathrina Maria Steenstrup, born 9/11 1842. Father: Michael Vogelius Steenstrup, judge in Frederikshavn and in Horn district, son of Johannes Vogelius Steenstrup of Skelund-V. Dead 23/1 1840. Mother Abelone Antoinette Lyngbye.