Vladimír List
Encyclopedia
Vladimír List was a Czech
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...

 electrical engineer, scientist and university teacher active in area of technical standardization
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....

.

During 1895-1899 List had studied mechanical engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague
Czech Technical University in Prague
Czech Technical University in Prague is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic, and the oldest institute of technology in Central Europe....

 but became interested in electrotechnics. During 1900-01 he studied it at the Montefiore Institute
Montefiore Institute
The Montefiore Institute is the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the University of Liège, Belgium.It was founded in 1883 and is named after Georges Montefiore-Levi....

 in Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....

, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. After return he became chief designer in František Křižík
František Križík
František Křižík was a Czech inventor, electrical engineer and entrepreneur. The main belt asteroid 5719 Křižík was named in his honor....

's company where he worked on problems of electrification of railways and the industry (1902–08). In 1904 he married Helena Gebauerová, daughter of bohemist Jan Gebauer
Jan Gebauer
Jan Gebauer was a significant Czech expert on Czech studies and one of the most renowned Czech scientists of all times. His scientific work was influenced by the methods of positivism.-Biography:...

. In 1908 List became professor at the Czech Technical University in Brno
Brno University of Technology
Brno University of Technology is a university located in Brno, Czech Republic...

 (during 1917-18 he served as its rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

).

In 1910 he helped to set up specialised magazine Elektrotechnický obzor, in 1913 he participated on systematic electrification of Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

 and convinced the authorities of necessity to build public high-voltage transmission line
Transmission line
In communications and electronic engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable designed to carry alternating current of radio frequency, that is, currents with a frequency high enough that its wave nature must be taken into account...

s. In 1926 he proposed construction of Prague Metro
Prague Metro
The Prague Metro is a subway, underground public transportation network in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the fastest means of transportation around the city and serves about one and a half million passengers a day, which makes it the seventh busiest metro system in Europe and the most-used in the...

, not realized at the time.

Since 1926 he was editor of book series Technický průvodce – Elektrotechnika (Technical Guide - Electrotechnics). He had written about 600 publications, many of them textbooks (well known were Základy elektrotechniky I and II).

After communist takeover in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 (1948) List was sent to pension but he still published (his last article for magazine "Elektrotechnický obzor" was written in 1970 when he was 93 years old).

Technical standardization

Vladimír List was very active in the field of technical standardization (normalisation). In 1919 he was one of founders of Czechoslovakian electrotechnical federation (Elektrotechnický svaz československý, ESČ) whose president he was during 1920-21. The ESČ logo is used until today.

In 1923 List was co-foounder of Czechoslovakian normalisation society (Československá normalizační společnost, ČSN). This organisation at first dealt with electrotechnics, then mechanical engineering and other industries adopted its goals. Later, ČSN standards became official.

In 1926 he co-founded, later served as a vice-chairman and during 1932-34 as a chairman of the international standards organization ISA (later ISO
International Organization for Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...

) in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

.

List had initiated work on conversion tables between metric system
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...

 and Imperial unit
Imperial unit
The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire...

s.

His was successful in effort to standardize voltages for trasnmission lines in Czechoslovakia in 1919 (220/380V
Volt
The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

 for low voltage and 22kV/100kV for high-voltage lines) and power plug sockets.

Importance

List had helped to establish very high level of technical standardisation in Czechoslovakia and this level was kept even over communist era. He was interested and participated in wide array of activities, in spite of chronic health problems.

Today, a building in technological park and a student dormitory in Brno are named after List. A small plaque in Prague Metro station "Muzeum" is dedicated to him.

External links

All texts are in Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

.
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