Om Materialprøvningens Udvikling i Norden
Og om Statsprøveanstaltens Virksomhed

 a 107 As it now, as mentioned, was stated that a Swede P. Wurtzius was the first practical tester of materials I asked Dr. Benedicks, the well-known physicist at the physical institute of the university of Upsala to try to procure some more detailed informations about his supposed compatriot P. Wurtzius. In the treatise of Fremont there are references to Girard’s work, mentioned above, and to the fact that the letter from Blondel is quoted in »Recueil de plusieurs traités de mathématiques par quel- ques membres de 1’Academie des sciences« in folio 1676 which however appeared not to be correct, — (see page 110, Note 1 here- after) . In November 1908 I got an answer from Dr. Benedicks from which it appears that he had found out that as far as he could judge P. Wurtzius was the same as the commander Baron Poul Würtz (v. Wirtz) one of the most renowned commanders of the Swedish army. But at the same time it appeared that P. Wurt- zius was not a native of October 1612 at Husum Danish. At the same time Dr. some informations about Lexikon« (Swedish Biographical Dictionary) and »Nord. Fämilje- bok« and lo inform me that a biography of him: »Leben und Thaien des Herrn Paulus v. Wirtzen by Philander v. d. Wei- stritz (Pseudonym for Christ. Gottl. Menzel) was published in Copenhagen and Leipzig 17561) (translated from a Dutch origi- nal biography from 1681). Further Dr. Benedicks advised to examine the works of Blondel: »Maniére de fortifier les places« 1683 and »L’art de jeter les bombes« 1685, upon which subjects Blondel might have corresponded, with some result, with Würtz1). As it thus seemed very likely that the first who had practised testing of materials was a native Dane I asked Dr. J. A. Fridericia, Prof, of the University of Copenhagen, to assist me in closer examining the correctness of this; and he did so with great readiness. At the University-Library Prof. Fridericia soon found in Mémoires de 1’Academie royale des Sciences 1666—99, T. 5 (Pa- ris 1729, 4to) a series of essays by Blondel under the general Sweden but was borne on the 30th of in Sies wie which at that time was Benedicks was kind enough to give me Würtz's life taken from »Svensk biogr. x) Ref. Allgemeine deutsche Biographie XLIV. 2) At any rate there is nothing about it in the first of these treatises.