Ludwig Christian Alexander Karl Martens (or
Ludwig Karlovich Martens; ; , Bachmut (currently,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
) − 19 October 1948,
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
) was a
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n revolutionary,
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
politician and engineer.
Ludwig Martens was born to a family of a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
-born industrialist Karl-Gustav-Adolf Martens, the owner of a
steel millA steel mill is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process...
in
KurskKursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. Kursk was a key turning point of the Russian-German war during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in World War II...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. There were five sons and two daughters in the family. Two of them, Ludwig and Olga, became professional revolutionaries.
In 1893 Martens graduated from a Kursk
RealschuleThe Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and Russian Empire .-Germany:In the German secondary school system, the Realschule is ranked between Hauptschule and Gymnasium...
and entered
Saint Petersburg State Institute of TechnologySaint Petersburg State Institute of Technology is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Russia , it currently trains around 5000 students.-History:...
.
Ludwig Christian Alexander Karl Martens (or
Ludwig Karlovich Martens; ; , Bachmut (currently,
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
) − 19 October 1948,
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
) was a
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n revolutionary,
SovietThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
politician and engineer.
Biography
Ludwig Martens was born to a family of a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
-born industrialist Karl-Gustav-Adolf Martens, the owner of a
steel millA steel mill is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process...
in
KurskKursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. Kursk was a key turning point of the Russian-German war during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in World War II...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. There were five sons and two daughters in the family. Two of them, Ludwig and Olga, became professional revolutionaries.
In 1893 Martens graduated from a Kursk
RealschuleThe Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and Russian Empire .-Germany:In the German secondary school system, the Realschule is ranked between Hauptschule and Gymnasium...
and entered
Saint Petersburg State Institute of TechnologySaint Petersburg State Institute of Technology is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Russia , it currently trains around 5000 students.-History:...
. Here he became acquainted
Vladimir LeninVladimir Ilyich Lenin , born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov , was the Bolshevik Leader of the 1917 October Revolution, and the first Head of State of the Soviet Union; in the course of his political career, he used the pseudonyms Lenin, V. I. Lenin, Nikolai Lenin, and N. Lenin...
and
Julius MartovJulius Martov or L. Martov was born in Istanbul in 1873...
. Soon he became a member of an illegal
MarxistMarxism is the political philosophy and economic worldview based upon a materialist interpretation of history, a Marxist analysis of capitalism, a theory of social change, and an atheist view of human liberation derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; three primary aspects of...
group
League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working ClassSt. Petersburg League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class was a leftwing group in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was founded by Lenin in the autumn of 1895....
.
In 1896 he was arrested, and in 1899 as a German national was deported to
GermanyThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
where he became a member of the
Social Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is Germany's oldest political party. The party governed at the federal level in a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union until conceding defeat in the federal election of September 2009...
. In 1902 he graduated from the
Technical College of CharlottenburgThe Technical University of Berlin is located in Berlin, Germany....
. In 1906 Martens emigrated to
Great BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927...
.
In 1915, with the onset of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, the Kursk steel mill owned by Martens' family was confiscated by the
Russian governmentThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
because the Martens family were considered German nationals. In 1916 Martens emigrated to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he worked as a vice president of the engineering firm
Weinberg & Posner (
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
).
In 1917, after the
February RevolutionThe February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It occurred March 8–12 and its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the collapse of Imperial Russia and the end of the Romanov dynasty. The non-Communist Russian Provisional Government under...
, Martens – together with
Leon TrotskyLeon Trotsky , born Leyba Davidov Bronstein , was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. He was one of the leaders of the Russian October Revolution, second only to Lenin...
and 278 other Russian Social Democrats – returned from the United States to Russia on a steamship.
In March 1919 Martens returned to the United States and founded the
Soviet BureauThe Soviet Bureau also known as Martens Bureau was an unofficial organization established by Soviet Russia, based in the USA, during the Russian Civil War. It was considered the unofficial Soviet embassy in America. It was headed by Ludwig Martens....
, an informal embassy of
Soviet RussiaSoviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia and Bolshevist Russia may refer to:*The part of Russia under the control of the Bolshevik government during the interval between the October Revolution and the formal declaration of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic according to its first, 1918 Russian...
. He established commercial contacts (formally illegal as the USA boycotted Soviet Russia at the time) with more than one thousand American firms including such as Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of
J. P. MorganJohn Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
. He negotiated a loan with the then Irish Emissary to the United States,
T.D.A Teachta Dála is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower chamber of the Oireachtas of Ireland. The official translation of Teachta Dála is Deputy to the Dáil, a more literal translation isAssembly Delegate...
Harry BolandHarry Boland was an Irish nationalist of the early Twentieth century.-Early life:Boland was born in Phibsboro, Dublin on 27 April, 1887...
, using the Russian Crown Jewels as security. In June 1919 the Bureau was searched by police, and after hearings in the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
and the
United States Department of LaborThe United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
, Martens was finally deported to Soviet Russia in January 1921.
After returning to Russia, Martens became a member of the
Supreme Soviet of the National EconomySupreme Soviet of the National Economy, Vesenkha was the superior state institution for management of the economy of the RSFSR and later of the Soviet Union...
and the Chairman of Glavmetal (a state organization holding all the
metallurgicalMetallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
enterprises of Soviet Russia). On that position Martens started works on developing the
Kursk Magnetic AnomalyKursk Magnetic Anomaly is a territory rich in iron ores located within the Kursk, Belgorod, and Voronezh oblasts, and constitutes a significant part of the Central Chernozyom Region...
, the largest
iron oreIron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, deep purple, to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite , hematite , goethite, limonite or...
deposits in Russia.
In 1924−26 Martens worked as the first Chairman of the
Committee on Invention of the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy (Комитет по делам Изобретений; the Soviet counterpart of a Western
Patent OfficeA patent office is a governmental or intergovernmental organization which controls the issue of patents. In other words, "patent offices are government bodies that may grant a patent or reject the patent application based on whether or not the application fulfils the requirements for...
). In 1925 he published a
monographA monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually also by a single author. It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
,
On the vibration of piston engines.
In 1926−36 Martens worked as the Head of the
Research and Development Institutes for DieselA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression...
Manufacturing (Научно-Исследовательский Институт Дизелестроения) in Leningrad. He was the author of the N-2 diesel (also known as the Martens Engine) intended as an aviation engine. The novel element of the diesel was that the 12-cylinder piston engine was aspired by a 6-cylinder piston air compressor. The diesel was tested in 1932.
In 1927−41 he was the Chief Editor of the
Technical Encyclopedia. In 1933 Martens wrote a letter to OGPU in support of the arrested
Pavel FlorenskyPavel Alexandrovich Florensky was a Russian Orthodox theologian, philosopher, mathematician, electrical engineer, inventor and Neomartyr sometimes compared by his followers to Leonardo da Vinci.-Early life:Pavel Aleksandrovich Florensky was born on January 21, 1882, into a family of a railroad...
, he also took care of Florensky's sons, Vasily and Kirill.
After 1941 he was an age pensioner. Martens is buried on
Novodevichy CemeteryNovodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia, situated next to the World Heritage Site, the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site...
.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the son of Ludwig Martens, Wilhelm Ludvigovich (Willy) Martens, was the head of the
Free Germany committee intended to organize German POWs to fight alongside the Soviets against Axis troops. The committee was organized in
KrasnogorskKrasnogorsk may refer to one of the following:*Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Krasnogorsk, Uzbekistan, a town in Uzbekistan...
in 1943. Later Wilhelm Martens worked as a Soviet intelligence officer.