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Robert Bosch Facts & Worksheets

Robert Bosch was an industrialist and engineer recognized in the world of technology for developing the spark plug.

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Industrialist and engineer Robert Bosch is recognized in the world of technology for developing the spark plug. In business history, he is known as the founder of Robert Bosch GmbH, a significant player in the electronics industry.

See the fact file below for more information on Robert Bosch, or you can download our 27-page Robert Bosch worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

PERSONAL LIFE AND EDUCATION

  • Robert Bosch was born on September 23, 1861, in Albeck, close to Ulm in southern Germany. 
  • He was the eleventh of twelve children. His father, Servatius Bosch, was a well-read and intelligent freemason with liberal political beliefs. He described Maria Margaretha, his mother, as very compassionate and hardworking.
  • Because both of his parents had inherited significant amounts of property, his father was able to pursue a variety of occupations, including farming and brewing.
  • Robert Bosch’s life experienced its first significant change with the family’s relocation to Ulm.
  • Robert Bosch attended Ulm’s secondary technical school but did not particularly enjoy his time there. He never flourished, although his talent guaranteed he would always be in the upper half of the class.
  • Despite wanting to pursue studies in zoology or botany, he decided against finishing high school and becoming eligible for college. Instead, he took his father’s advice and started a precision mechanic apprenticeship.
  • At the age of 18, Bosch finished his apprenticeship after three years.
  • After completing his education, Bosch served as a non-commissioned officer and officer candidate for a year as a volunteer at the Württemberg Pioneer Battalion No. 13 in Ulm. He did not, however, follow the officer’s career route as his superiors had advised.
  • Bosch worked for numerous businesses between 1879 and 1886, including the U.S. (at Thomas Edison), Germany, and the U.K. (at Siemens Brothers), where he worked primarily in the electrical manufacturing industry equipment.
  • To overcome his “fear of technical terms,” he attended lectures at Stuttgart Polytechnic during the winter semester of 1883–84.
  • Robert Bosch married Anna Kayser (1864–1949), the sister of his friend Eugen Kayser, on October 10, 1887, in the Lutheran church in Obertürkheim, close to Stuttgart.
  • They had a son named Robert (1891), who passed away in 1921 as a result of multiple sclerosis, and three daughters: Margarete (1888–1972), Paula (1889–1974), and Erna Elisabeth (1893–1894).
  • Bosch’s marriage fell apart with the passing of his son, and the couple divorced in 1927.
  • Robert Bosch wed Margarete Wörz (1888-1979), a chief forester’s daughter, in the same year.
  • They had two children, Robert, born in 1928, and Eva, born in 1931.

CAREER AND CONTRIBUTIONS

  • Robert Bosch founded the Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering on November 11, 1886, with the help of his first two employees, a technician, and an errand boy. 
  • Operations could not start immediately since official approval was not yet received. The required authorization was obtained four days later, on November 15, 1886, and this day has been observed as the company’s founding date ever since.
  • The workshop had rigorous regulations. Bosch highly valued thriftiness, quality, punctuality, and discipline. He placed the utmost importance on providing the finest caliber work.
  • In the beginning, Robert Bosch took all the work he could, such as building and installing all electrical equipment, telephone installations, and remote electrical water-level indicators.
  • The operating capital of 10,000 marks that Robert Bosch had accumulated via his savings and a legacy from his father was quickly depleted. The only thing keeping the business going was a bank loan for which his relatives provided surety.
  • Bosch created his first magneto ignition system at a client’s request and modeled it after a product developed by Cologne-based engine manufacturer Deutz.
  • On October 8, 1887, the first Bosch ignition device was delivered to Schmehl & Hespelt, a mechanical engineering firm in the small town of Moeckmuehl north of Stuttgart.
  • He produced nine units in 1888, but by 1891 he had over 100, and the magneto ignition system was now responsible for more than half of the shop’s sales.
  • In 1892, he had a tough year and was forced to cut his staff from 24 employees to only 2.
  • In 1897, Arnold Zähringer, a Bosch employee, was the first to successfully adapt a high-speed motor vehicle engine to such a magneto. One of the main technological issues facing the still-developing car industry was resolved by this.
  • In 1898, Bosch began expanding his company into other European nations, starting in the U.K. and then in other European nations, including France, Austria, and Hungary in the years that followed. With 45 employees, Bosch was already in a position to start his own factory in 1901.
  • The first commercially successful high-voltage spark plug for a magneto-based ignition system was another innovation by Bosch’s firm. 
  • Gottlob Honold, an engineer at the firm, created it in 1902, advancing the advancement of the internal combustion engine.
  • One of the first employers to implement the eight-hour workday was Bosch in 1906. However, this decision was driven by more than just concern for the colleagues’ social well-being; it was also a smart commercial decision.
  • In the United States, Bosch established his first sales office in 1906 and his first factory there in 1912. Bosch was particularly eager to encourage training among his staff from the start. As a result, in 1913, he set up an internal apprenticeship department with an apprentices’ workshop. In the same year, the business sold its goods on every continent and received about 88 percent of its revenue from sources outside Germany.
  • For Bosch, the start of the First World War in the summer of 1914 was a complete catastrophe. Most of Germany’s wartime adversaries took not just the company’s physical assets but also its intellectual property rights, patents, and brands, and many of its important international markets disappeared overnight.
  • Bosch introduced a wide range of automotive technological advances after the First World War, including the electronic horn in 1921, the windshield wiper in 1926, diesel injection, and the pneumatic power braking system in 1927, hair clippers in 1928, and household appliances in 1933.
  • To increase efficiency and lessen dependence on the automotive industry, Robert Bosch launched a broad modernization and diversification project in response to the pressures of the mid-1920s economic crisis, which hit the sector particularly hard in 1926.
  • In a short time, he transformed his business from a modest automotive supplier into a modern, international electrical engineering corporation.

FINAL YEARS

  • Robert Bosch retreated even further from public life when the National Socialists took power in 1933. Very early on, Hitler’s desire to start a new war became evident, a fact that deeply disturbed Bosch.
  • His company’s involvement in the Third Reich’s rearmament and belligerent policies cast a cloud over his final years. 
  • Due to their convictions, Bosch and his top executives backed the Nazi regime’s resistance and assisted in the rescue of Jewish associates and other persecuted individuals.
  • Bosch organized his affairs and turned the company into a GmbH (private limited company) in 1937 before drafting his will in 1938. Bosch’s will addressed his main concern that lasting ties with his descendants be maintained and that a portion of the company’s profits would be used for charitable and social causes. In addition to safeguarding the company’s future over the long term by making sure it remained financially independent, autonomous, and capable of taking appropriate action.
  • In April 1940, the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart, which he founded with 5.5 million marks on his 75th birthday, was inaugurated.
  • He died on March 12, 1942, in Stuttgart of problems related to middle ear inflammation.
  • Even decades after his death, the ideals, and manner of thinking exemplified by Robert Bosch continue to permeate a corporation that now employs over 400,000 men and women.

Robert Bosch Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Robert Bosch across 27 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Robert Bosch, who is an industrialist and engineer recognized in the world of technology for developing the spark plug.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Robert Bosch Facts 
  2. A Glimpse of His Life
  3. The Truth
  4. Bosch-abulary
  5. Lost and Found
  6. Let’s Arrange!
  7. Advertise Your Product
  8. In Other Words…
  9. According to Bosch
  10. Let’s Learn More
  11. News Flash

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Robert Bosch’s first invention?

When Robert Bosch first started his company, he only had two employees. They assembled telephone systems and electric bells. But he was ambitious and worked hard. In 1902, he invented the high-voltage magneto. It regulated electricity for internal combustion engines. This invention was crucial for the company’s success.

Is Robert Bosch still alive?

On March 18, 1942, the National Socialist regime refused to leave Robert Bosch in peace even after his death and organized a state funeral at Waldfriedhof cemetery. The funeral procession was held to honor Robert Bosch’s urn burial on March 12 that same year.

What brand owns Bosch?

Established in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1886 by Robert Bosch, the company is currently owned 92% by the charitable organization known as Robert Bosch Stiftung.

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Link will appear as Robert Bosch Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 3, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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