Wolfgang von Kempelen was born in Bratislava, and spent most of his life in Vienna, where he worked in the service of Maria Theresia, ruler of the Habsburg Empire.
Von Kempelen was quite simply a genius. Among his many achievements was the invention of a speaking machine (in 1791) and a special typewriter for the blind.
His most famous invention, however, was the construction of The Turk, a chess-playing automaton, which was later found out to be a hoax.
Andy Warhol | Pavol Orszagh Hviezdoslav | Master Pavol of Levoca | Jan Bahyl | Rev. Jozef Murgas | Stefan Banic | Wolfgang von Kempelen
Jozef Karol Hell | Jozef Maximilian Petzval | Alexander Dubcek | Andrej Hlinka | Milan Ratislav Stefanik | Ludovit Stur | Matus Cak
Prince Mojmir | Prince Pribina | Anton Bernolak | Cyril and Method | Juraj Janosik | Lubomir Moravcik | Jozo Raz