- Jan Perner
Jan Perner (
September 7 1815 in Bratčice nearČáslav -September 10 1845 inPardubice ) was a Czech railway engineer. During 1842 - 1845 Perner was responsible for construction of several railways in theAustrian Empire .Perner was born to a water-mill owner and his wife. During 1830-33 he studied at an engineering school in
Prague led byFrantišek Josef Gerstner . When Gerstner looked for engineers for construction of railways inSankt Petersburg area ofImperial Russia , Perner joined the project (1836). Due to problems in communication with Gerstner he left in the same year. In 1837 Perner began work at the state railway company and was gradually promoted to take responsibility for construction works. In 1842 he started to design and oversee construction of important railwaysPrague -Pardubice -Olomouc and Prague -Dresden .The railway from Prague to Pardubice (over 100 km) was finished in 1845. On
September 9 1845, while Perner was returning from an inspection trip he looked out of the window of a moving train (nearChoceň ). His head hit a pole, and severely injured, Perner died the next day. He has the dubious fame of being the first person to die in a railway accident in Bohemia.----Today one of the faculties of
University of Pardubice is named after him: "Jan Perner Transport Faculty" ("Dopravní fakulta Jana Pernera") [http://genesis.upce.cz/english/english-faculties/en-dfjp/] .An
InterCity class train of railway operatorČeské dráhy bears the name "Jan Perner".External links
* [http://www.zivotopisy.cz/clanky.php?id=168 Detailed biography (in Czech)]
* [http://www.bratcice.cz/perner.html Biography on website of his birth village (in Czech)]
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