* 25. April 1862 in Potsdam; † 5. Mai 1927 in Berlin

German photochemist and pioneer of photographic technology


Thank you very much for taking some time. First of all, I would like to introduce myself briefly. My name is Miethe, Privy Councillor Prof. Dr. Adolf Miethe. You probably won’t know me. Although I now have a small Wikipedia entry.

My great invention was colour photography. It was the result of my first research. This new way of photographing opened many doors for me later on. But apart from that, I have also achieved a lot in my life. I would like to report on that here. You won’t find all the things you need in Wikipedia. I would like to take you on a walk between a photograph and its interpretations. Accompany me through an eventful time around the turn of the century before last.

I would like to tell you 24 little episodes. You can get to the next story by entering a password, which you find out by solving a little riddle. The riddle at the beginning is a little longer. You decide how fast you are. I hope you will take your time and immerse yourself in the story. At the end, I will ask a question about all the episodes. Just like in my lectures. The students never liked that. But it increases the attention. The solution then takes you to a special place. This much is already revealed.


To the individual stories
oo1 . oo2 . oo3 . oo4 . oo5 . oo6 . oo7 . oo8 . oo9 . o10 . o11 . o12
o13 . o14 . o15 . o16 . o17 . o18 . o19 . o20 . o21 .o22 . o23 . o24


The search is for a proper name with nine letters and three syllables

Letter 1 – Year of birth (1862)

  • Appointment of the first Prussian Prime Minister
  • third letter of the second part of the surname

Letter 2 – School enrolment (1867)

  • famous Swedish industrialist patents his invention
  • first letter of the first name

Letter 3 – 10th birthday (1872)

  • Winner in the first football cup final in history
  • third letter of the club

Letter 4 – 21st birthday (1883)

  • great eruption of Krakatoa
  • seventh letter of the country where the volcano is located

Letter 5 – wedding (1890)

  • oldest party in Germany receives its present name
  • first letter of the first word

Letter 6 – 40th birthday (1902)

  • Publication of “The Hound of the Baskervilles
  • second letter in the first and second part of the author’s surname

Letter 7 – 50th birthday (1912)

  • Sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage
  • third letter of the starting port of the voyage

Letter 8 – 60th birthday (1922)

  • Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun
  • first letter of the discoverer’s surname

Letter 9 – Year of death (1927)

  • Atlantic crossing of Charles Lindbergh
  • fourth letter of the destination

The password for the first episode is (small letters):

☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

click here for the first episode


Adolf Miethe – Information