Béla Barényi

The native form of this personal name is Barényi Béla. This article uses the Western name order.
Béla Barényi

Béla Barényi
Born Béla Barényi
(1907-03-01)March 1, 1907
Hirtenberg, Lower Austria, Austria, Austro-Hungarian Empire
Died May 30, 1997(1997-05-30) (aged 90)
Boeblingen, Germany
Nationality Austrian
Education Privatfachschule für Maschinenbau und Elektrotechnik, Vienna, Austria
Occupation Inventor, Engineer
Relatives Friedrich Barényi (aviation pioneer) (brother), Seraphin Keller (industrialist) (great-grandfather), Fridolin Keller (industrialist) (grandfather)

Béla Barényi (1 March 1907 in Hirtenberg, Austria – 30 May 1997 in Böblingen, Germany) was an Austrian engineer,[1] of Hungarian[2][3][4] heritage and Austrian heritage (from his father's and mother's side, respectively). He is regarded as the father of passive safety in automobiles.[5][6] He was born in Hirtenberg, Austria near Vienna, Austria during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father Jenő Barényi (1866–1917) was a Hungarian officer, a teacher at the military academy at Pressburg, a former Hungarian capital (known in Hungarian as Pozsony, now more commonly as Bratislava since the creation of Czechoslovakia following World War I and the Treaty of Trianon).

Barényi's birth house, the villa of the Austrian industrial magnates of the Keller family into which Barényi was born

Barényi was known as a prolific inventor. There have been claims that, when he retired on 31 December 1972, he had more than 2000 patents, twice as many as Thomas Edison;[7] and claims that Barényi had over 2500 patents by 2009.[8] However, the claims include patents filed in multiple countries for the same invention, which are not separate inventions. Barényi's patent count documented at the European Patent Office is 1,244 worldwide[9] with 595 of those filed in Germany,[10] the primary filing country of his primary employer.

After mechanical and electrical engineering studies at the Vienna college, he was employed by various Austrian automobile companies: Austro-Fiat, Steyr and Adler automobile companies before joining Daimler-Benz in 1939. Heading the pre-development department of Daimler-Benz from 1939 to 1972, he developed e.g. the concept of the crumple zone, the non-deformable passenger cell,[11] collapsible steering column, safer detachable hardtops[12] etc. and other features of Mercedes-Benz automobiles.

He is also credited with having conceived the basic design for the Volkswagen Beetle in 1925,[6] five years before Ferdinand Porsche claimed to have done his version.[13] Barényi was nominated for the award of Car Engineer of the Century in 1999 and inducted into the Detroit Automotive Hall of Fame in 1994.

Barényi died in Böblingen, Germany. A Mercedes advertisement featuring Barényi’s image stated: “No one in the world has given more thought to car safety than this man.” Béla Barényi left a broad record of his inventions to Technisches Museum Wien in Vienna in his native country Austria.[14]

He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1994.[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ "Barényi Béla, "autóbiztonsági szakértő"". Sulinet (governmental educational site in Hungary) (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  2. ↑ Boros, Jenő (2003-07-02). "Barényi, a halhatatlan". Népszabadság (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  3. ↑ "100 éve született Barényi Béla, a passzív biztonság úttörője". Magyar Televízió. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  4. ↑ "65 évvel ezelőtt vette kezdetét a Mercedes-Benznél a személygépkocsik biztonsági fejlesztése". Autó-Motor (automotive magazine) (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  5. ↑ "Prof. h.c. Béla Barényi". German Patent and Trade Mark Office. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  6. 1 2 "Inductees: Béla Barényi". Automotive Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  7. ↑ ATZ online: 100th Birthday of Béla Barényi: "when he retired on 31. December 1972, he already had more than 2000 patents, twice as many as Edison". http://www.atzonline.de/Artikel/3/7053/Vom-Bestohlenen-zur-Heiligsprechung-Zum-hundertsten-Geburtstag-von-B%C3%A9la-Bar%C3%A9nyi.html
  8. ↑ Inventor's gallery: Béla Barényi's inventions resulted in more than 2,500 patents... http://www.dpma.de/ponline/erfindergalerie/e_bio_barenyi.html
  9. ↑ Worldwide Patents of Béla Barényi
  10. ↑ German Patents of Béla Barényi
  11. ↑ Eckermann, Erik; Peter L. Albrecht (2001). World History of the Automobile. p. 181. ISBN 0-7680-0800-X. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  12. ↑ Robinson, Aaron; Morgan J. Segal (August 2006). "1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SL - Feature". Car and Driver. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  13. ↑ His thesis anticipated the key design principles of the VW in 1925/1926. ("Mit seiner Abschlussarbeit zu den Grundlagen des späteren Volkswagenkonzepts (Zentralrohrrahmen mit Boxermotor im Heck und Stromlinienkarosserie in Pontonbauweise) nahm er bereits (1925/26) entscheidende Konstruktionsmerkmale des VW vorweg.") – From: Niemann: Barenyi, Bela.
  14. ↑ Bernhard Flieher: Technisches Museum: Wie ein Motor verschwindet. In: salzburg.com, Salzburger Nachrichten, February 16, 2010, accessed September 16, 2011.
  15. ↑ "MERCEDES ENGINEER ENTERS AUTOMOTIVE HALL OF FAME; BELA BARENYI ACKNOWLEDGED AS FATHER OF AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY". The Free Library. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Béla Barényi". Hall of Fame Inductees. Automotive Hall of Fame. 1994. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
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