Wilhelm Jakobs

Wilhelm Jakobs (February 10, 1858 – February 3, 1942) was a German railway engineer and construction advisor.

Life Early years and education Wilhelm Jakobs was born on 10 February 1858 in Diezenkausen as the eldest child of Wilhelm Jakobs (1832–1913) and Luise, born Luise Simon. His father, a respected farmer and blacksmith, held public office and was known for his poetic inclinations, earning him the nickname "poet behind the plow" among the foresters.

Wilhelm attended elementary school in Waldbröl and secondary school at the Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium in Cologne, graduating on 17 July 1877. He then enrolled in mechanical engineering at the Berlin Gewerbeakademie (later Technical University) on 9 October 1877. On 22 November 1882, he passed the first state examination for mechanical engineering.

Following his graduation, Wilhelm worked in railroad workshops and completed military service as a one-year volunteer at the railroad regiment. He then focused on locomotive construction in Hanover and passed the locomotive examination between 1886 and 1888. From 16 July 1888 onwards, he worked as a railroad official at the railway directorate in Cologne.

On 28 August 1895, Wilhelm married Else Luyken and established his first household in St. Johann. Together, they had five sons born between 1896 and 1905. In 1896, Wilhelm was called back to Cologne but retired from civil service in 1900 to become the head of the Rastatt wagon factory. On 10 April 1901, the Imperial Patent Office granted him a patent for a "passenger car consisting of several articulated sections, two of which each rest on a common bogie with the ends facing each other." This bogie, known as the Jakobs bogie,