Curt Herzstark

Curt Herzstark (26 January 1902 to 27 October 1988) was an Austrian engineer who designed the Curta, a compact mechanical pocket calculator. Born in Vienna, he served as technical manager of his father's firm, Rechenmaschinenwerk Austria Herzstark and Company, and had completed the design of the Curta by 1938, but the Nazi annexation of Austria prevented its manufacture. In 1943 he was arrested and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where his technical skill led the authorities to put him to work in a factory linked to the camp and to have him draw the calculator again. He redrew the complete construction from memory and survived until the camp was liberated in 1945. Herzstark died in Nendeln, Liechtenstein.