ENGINEER

Willy Messerschmitt

1898 - 1978

Photo of Willy Messerschmitt

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Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt (German pronunciation: [ˈmɛsɐʃmɪt]; 26 June 1898 – 15 September 1978) was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. In 1934, in collaboration with Walter Rethel, he designed the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which became the most important fighter aircraft in the Luftwaffe as Germany rearmed prior to World War II. It remains the second most-produced warplane in history, with some 34,000 built, behind the Soviet Ilyushin Il-2. Another Messerschmitt aircraft, first called "Bf 109R", purpose-built for record setting, but later redesignated Messerschmitt Me 209, broke the absolute world airspeed record and held the world speed record for propeller-driven aircraft until 1969. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Willy Messerschmitt has received more than 601,602 page views. His biography is available in 37 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 36 in 2019). Willy Messerschmitt is the 26th most popular engineer (down from 17th in 2019), the 597th most popular biography from Germany (down from 539th in 2019) and the 5th most popular German Engineer.

Willy Messerschmitt was a German aircraft engineer who is most famous for his work on the Messerschmitt Bf 109, which was a fighter plane used by the Luftwaffe in World War II.

Memorability Metrics

  • 600k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 65.23

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 37

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.92

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.54

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ENGINEERS

Among engineers, Willy Messerschmitt ranks 26 out of 389. Before him are Hans Albert Einstein, Jack Kilby, Jiro Horikoshi, Andrei Tupolev, Artem Mikoyan, and August Horch. After him are Abram Petrovich Gannibal, Philo of Byzantium, Lennart Torstensson, Hermann Oberth, Albert Göring, and Theodore von Kármán.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1898, Willy Messerschmitt ranks 31. Before him are Rudolf Dassler, Henry Moore, Ahmad Shah Qajar, Karl Ziegler, René Clair, and Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois. After him are Curzio Malaparte, Jeanne Hébuterne, Trofim Lysenko, Karl Hermann Frank, Peng Dehuai, and Alexander Calder. Among people deceased in 1978, Willy Messerschmitt ranks 21. Before him are Ricardo Zamora, John Cazale, Harry Martinson, Kurt Student, Houari Boumédiène, and Margaret Mead. After him are Ronnie Peterson, Vincent du Vigneaud, Mohammed Daoud Khan, Hasso von Manteuffel, Jim Jones, and Harold Lasswell.

Others Born in 1898

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Others Deceased in 1978

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In Germany

Among people born in Germany, Willy Messerschmitt ranks 597 out of 7,253. Before him are Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743), Ludwig Tieck (1773), August Bebel (1840), Heinrich Brüning (1885), Karl Gebhardt (1897), and August Horch (1868). After him are Fritz Walter (1920), Bruno Bauer (1809), Polykarp Kusch (1911), Felix Hoffmann (1868), Hans-Dieter Flick (1965), and Sandra (1962).

Others born in Germany

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Among ENGINEERS In Germany

Among engineers born in Germany, Willy Messerschmitt ranks 5. Before him are Gottlieb Daimler (1834), Otto Lilienthal (1848), Fritz Todt (1891), and August Horch (1868). After him are Albert Göring (1895), Hugo Junkers (1859), Felix Wankel (1902), Ernst Heinkel (1888), Arthur Scherbius (1878), Kurt Gerstein (1905), and Walter Dornberger (1895).

German born Engineers

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