Social philosopher, engineer and inventor
Josef Popper, also know by the pseudonim of Lynkeus, was born in Kolin, Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic). He studied at the University of Prague, but he was refused a teaching post there because of his Judaism. He worked during a short period with the Hungarian national railroads. Later he left for Vienna, where he did different simple works.
Josef Popper invented a device which was very important in the engine industry (1868). He could live on the profits he earned from his inventions, and dedicated his life to writing on social reform. He took the pseudonim of Lynkeus, (a mythological figure). As an inventor, he was far ahead of his time and invented objects and systems to be used years later. His bigger fame was, however, as a writer on social reform. He defended the right of people to live in freedom and dignity without being exploited by the state. He believed that social problems can be solved when every member in the society will contribute to the total welfare of society. His ideas are incorporated in the policy of the modern welfare state. Popper suffered a lot from his being a Jew, but refused to convert. He accused Bismarck of anti-Semitism and came to the conclusion that only a Jewish State could eliminate anti-Semitism. But even with those Zionist thoughts, he did not take an active part in the Zionist movement.
Popper was a very close friend of Albert Einstein, and was regarded as a genius. He donated a great part of his books to the Jewish National Library in Jerusalem. His bust, which was erected in the Rathauspark in Vienna, was destroyed by the Nazis in 1938.