Siemens, Ernest Werner von (Werner von Siemens)

Late deafened. While an officer in the Prussian artillery, was deafened in one ear by a shooting drill and in the other by the explosion of an experiment. Invented several devices and processes related to electricity and the telegraph; well-known for scientific investigations into electricity and for improvements to the telegraph. Made a knight of the Prussian Order, and in 1888 the German Emperor conferred nobility on him. Founder of the Siemens company, now an industrial giant, especially in the fields of electricity and electronics.