Otto Lehmann : Researcher of the Liquid Crystals

When more than 20 years ago Mrs. Gertrud Lehmann gave me some dustyboxes with old documents of her father-in-law Otto Lehmann, I had not theslightest idea about the historical treasure that I was given. Next to manyvials with chemicals, microscopical compounds, and old manuscripts ofbooks, I could find an almost complete collection of his publications as wellas a folder with letters that allow deep insight into his eventful life as a researcher.In order to learn more about Otto Lehmann, I was given the opportunity totalk to his son, Professor Karl Otto Lehmann, other relatives and friends.They too could tell me some nice anecdotes about Otto Lehmann's life.It took a long time to review all of the documents and to decipher all of thepredominantly handwritten letters. Within the framework of this biography itis not possible to print all of these letters; this book is written as a means togive the interested reader an insight, based on some examples, into thework of this outstanding scientist. Still, there are some quotations of lettersthat are more extensive. I hereby ask the reader for indulgence since I'mtrying to meet the demands of colleagues who would like to have these documentsas close to the original as possible.