German politician and physicist

Otto von Guericke, born in Magdeburg, Germany, was a scientific showman during the seventeenth century. He studied mathematics, law, and engineering. Following travels to England and France, Guericke returned to Magdeburg in 1627 and became a politician. Unfortunately, this was during the Thirty Years' War; Guericke and his family had to flee the city in 1631. Following the war, he returned and helped rebuild the city, becoming mayor in 1646. Twenty years later he became a noble and added "von" to his name.

Otto von Guericke spent his leisure time dabbling in science, and he became involved in discussions surrounding the possibility of the existence of a vacuum. Most scientists were inclined to disavow that a vacuum could exist, primarily because of the teachings of Aristotle. Aristotle's theory was a masterpiece of reverse logic; he believed that if the air became...