Berthold Schwarz Berthold Schwarz Berthold Schwarz (sometimes spelled Schwartz), also known as Berthold the Black and "der Schwartzer", was a legendary German (or in some accounts Danish or Greek) alchemist of the late 14th century, credited with the invention of gunpowder by 15th- through 19th-century European literature. The purported period of Schwarz' activity (late 14th century) thus falls between the first reports of gunpowder in Europe (late 13th century) and the development of effective applications in artillery (mid 15th century). It is unclear whether Schwarz is a historical person. It has been suggested that he was a historical alchemist who had developed
Gerald Schwarz Gerald Schwarz Gerald Walter Schwarz (born February 15, 1946, Portland, Oregon, United States) is an American mathematician and Professor Emeritus at Brandeis University. Schwarz specializes in invariant theory, algebraic group actions and invariant differential operators. Of German descent, Schwarz's father, Ernst, was one of the 30,000 Jews seized during Kristallnacht. He was imprisoned at the Buchenwald concentration camp until his wife, Elaine, managed to secure a visa to travel abroad. Upon his release from the camp, the couple fled to England where Gerald's older brother, Maurice, was born. In November 1939, Ernst, Elaine and Maurice arrived in the United States,