1882 | Born on September 26th in Unna (Westphalia). |
1901-03 | Studies as an engineer at the School for Mechanical Engineering in Hagen. First experiments with photography using a self-constructed “Laterna Magica.” |
1904 | Transfers to the Technical University, Berlin. Sculpture classes at the Technical University and the Academy of Art, Berlin. Makes regular visits to the Zoological Garden to sketch animals. |
1914-18 | Constructs planes for Zeppelin-Bau AG in Staaken (Brandenburg). |
1918-21 | Studies with animal sculptor August Gaul (1869-1921) at the Academy of Arts. German sculptor Ernst Barlach (1870-1938) becomes his artistic role model. |
1922-29 | Works as a freelance sculptor in Berlin. Takes photographs of animals at the zoo to use as studies for sculptures. Photographs everyday life in Berlin. |
1930-33 | Stops working as a sculptor and begins career as a freelance photojournalist at Ullstein-AG, then Europe’s largest publisher of newspapers and magazines. |
1934-45 | Works for private photo agencies after Ullstein-AG is closed down by the Nazis. Does traveling reports on nature, daily life, and rural labor in Brandenburg, Pomerania, and East Prussia. |
1945-49 | Bombs destroy part of his personal archive at Kaiserplatz 16 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Working without a contract, takes hundreds of pictures of the destroyed city of Berlin – his last significant project as a photographer. |
1950-60 | Withdraws from public life and takes only a few private photos of nudes in color. |
1962 | His 80th birthday is the occasion for the first retrospective of his work, which is held in the Wilmersdorf town hall in Berlin. |
1966 | Dies of a stroke on December 26th in Berlin and is buried in his hometown. |