Karl Heinrich Emil Becker
| Karl Becker | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 14 September 1879 |
| Died | 8 April 1940 (aged 60) |
| Rank | General of the Artillery |
| Commands held | Chief of the Heereswaffenamt |
Karl Heinrich Emil Becker (14 September 1879 in Speyer – 8 April 1940 in Berlin) was a German weapons engineer and artillery general. He advocated and implemented close ties of the military to science for purposes of advanced weapons development. He was the head of the Army Ordnance Office, Senator of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, first president of the Reich Research Council, the first general officer to be a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, as well as being a professor at both the University of Berlin and the Berlin Technical University. He was an early and key supporter of the development of ballistic rockets as weapons. The military-scientific infrastructure he helped implement supported the German nuclear energy program, known as the Uranium Club. Being depressed over heavy criticism from Hitler for shortfalls in munitions production, he committed suicide in 1940. He was given a State funeral.
From 1898, Becker was a military engineer.
From 1901 to 1903, Becker studied at the Munich Artillery and Engineering School. From 1906 to 1911, he studied at the Berlin Military Engineering Academy, specializing in ballistics under Carl Julius Cranz; from 1908 to 1911, he was a teaching assistant at the Ballistics Laboratory there. From 1911 to 1914, he was a member of the Artillery Examining Board. In 1913, Becker co-authored a revision of Cranz' classic text, Lehrbuch der Ballistik.
During World War I, Becker held two positions. From 1914 to 1916, he commanded a 42-cm mortar battery. From 1917 to 1919, he was an advisor on artillery ballistics at the Weapons and Equipment Inspection (Inspektion für Waffen und Gerät), which later became the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Ordnance Office).
From 1919 to 1923, Becker studied chemistry and metallurgy. He was awarded a doctorate of engineering in 1922, with a thesis on cathodic change of phenol.
From 1922, Major Becker was an advisor to the HWA inspections office.
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