Franjo Hanaman
One Croatian inventor showed the whole world the advantages and features of alternating current, and another Croatian inventor introduced a much more economical way of applying that same current for what every living being needs – light.
The first inventor is, of course, Nikola Tesla, and the second is Franjo Hanaman. Franjo Hanaman was born on June 30, 1878 in Drenovci, a small town in today’s Vukovar-Srijem County.
Franjo Hanaman graduated in Vienna in 1899 and received his doctorate in Berlin in 1913. However, only four years after his graduation and a full ten years before his doctorate, Franjo Hanaman achieved what he is best known for today, all over the world.
1903. godine u Beču, Franjo Hanaman je u zajedničkom radu s asistentom Alexanderom Justom, prijavio patent DRP 154262 pod nazivom „Postupak za proizvodnju žarnih elemenata od volframa ili molibdena za električne žarulje“.
It is known that the electric light bulb in the form we know it was invented by the American inventor Thomas Edison, however, his light bulbs that lit using coal were not efficient enough.
Hanaman’s tungsten filament lamps glowed four to five times longer than coal filament lamps, and were significantly more suitable for working in everyday conditions than the materials that were being experimented with at the time, but it turned out that they were not sufficiently stable, economical or for another reason suitable for everyday use.
This invention by Franjo Hanaman was extremely popular. Light bulbs with a tungsten filament, according to the original patent of this Croatian inventor, were used throughout the entire twentieth century in practically all world households, in public lighting and in other applications where electric bulbs were used.
It is also interesting how Franjo Hanaman secured his existence by selling the patent to an American multinational company and then one of the largest companies in the world, General Electric.
It was the Americans who recognized that Hanaman, as a Croat, significantly upgraded the invention of their American, Edison, just as Nikola Tesla with his alternating current system significantly upgraded Edison’s direct current system.
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Hanaman returned to his homeland in Zagreb. He first served in the army for a few months, and then started working in education. As a famous scientist and a respected inventor, he had offers from all over the world for various well-paid jobs, from Europe to America, and since he was single and without a family, he could go anywhere without problems.
However, despite the wealth he acquired by selling patents, Hanaman’s passion in life was working with students because he wanted to contribute to the development of his homeland by developing education, so he decided to stay in Zagreb.
He is the author of the first textbooks of inorganic chemistry and metallurgy in the Croatian language. The highlight of Franjo Hanaman’s educational activity was the introduction of the subjects Metallurgy and Inorganic Chemical Technology at the Technical Faculty, which he taught until his death.
In 1939, he founded the Department of Mining and Metallurgy at the same faculty, where he remained the head for the rest of his life. With this aspect of his work, apart from inventions that were beneficial to all mankind, he helped build the foundations of the modern Croatian education system.