Guericke, Otto von. German philosopher. Born in 1602 in Magdeburg, of which he became burgermeister, after traveling in France and England, and studying at Leyden. He invented the air pump, and made experiments before the Diet at Ratisbon in 1654. He also constructed the first electric machine, and described his "Magdeburg Hemispheres," in his "Nova Experimenta." Guericke died in 1686.

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