It is easy to see that a man of such activity had no time to further work on the motion picture projector which he had invented as a young man, passing away tedious years while awaiting promotion and responsibility.
Eventually Uchatius became a Field Marshal, but he died unhappy. He wrote a farewell note, “Forgive me, my dear ones, because I am unable to endure life any longer,” and killed himself on June 4, 1881, at the age of 69. He was broken-hearted. Though his artillery weapons had been a great success, he had yet to perfect coast defense guns. The final blow was a remark passed on from the Austrian War Department, that the officials doubted they would live to see successful completion of Uchatius’ coastal guns. Also, an order was sent to Krupp for four such guns for the harbor of Pola, then an Austro-Hungarian seaport, and after World War II, a port in the area disputed by Italy and Yugoslavia. It was said that the general was ill, suffering from an incurable cancer of the stomach.
Uchatius was naturally a hero of the Austrian artillery. A monumental obelisk was raised to his memory by subscriptions from the men who were using his weapons. His biographer, Karl Spaĉil, wrote: “As often as this country (Austria) begins to rearm, it is no wonder that the name of Uchatius is mentioned and praised anew.”
But Uchatius then and now should have been praised not for his engines of war but for his important contribution to the magic shadow art-science. For by perfecting a motion picture machine which would bring living pictures before audiences, Uchatius, together with Kircher and Plateau, the other great magic shadow pioneers, deserves credit and the gratitude of untold millions who down through the years have had their lives enriched through this great new medium of expression.
The use of Uchatius’ projector spread rapidly. It satisfied a natural urge. Man from the beginning sought to recreate life naturally and realistically. Large screen motion pictures, even of but one scene, repeated over and over, represented a definite step on that road.
Abb. 1. Franz Freiherr von Uchatius.
Ölbildnis von Sigmund l’Allemand im Besitz des Wiener Heeresmuseums.
Schweizerische Zeitschrift, 1905
FRANZ VON UCHATIUS in 1853 combined Kircher’s projector of 1645 and Plateau’s revolving disk of 1832 to achieve the first projection of animated designs.