Gunter Sachs
Encyclopedia
Fritz Gunter Sachs was a German
photographer, author
, industrialist, and latterly head of an institute that researched claims of astrology
. As a young man he became a sportsman, then gained international fame as a documentary
film-maker
and documentary
photographer. He was interested in astrology
and its connection with mathematics
and statistics
.
; his father was Willy Sachs, sole owner of Fichtel & Sachs
, a leading manufacturer of ball bearings and one of Germany’s biggest automobile suppliers. Willy was known to Hermann Göring
and Heinrich Himmler and arrested by the American military after the war but finally declared a follower and released. Gunter Sachs commented on his father’s past in several publications. Willy committed suicide in 1958 by shooting himself. Sachs' brother, Ernst Wilhelm, died in an avalanche
in 1977.
in his early years, Sachs was romantically linked to the former Iran
ian queen Soraya Esfandiary. He married three times. His first wife, Anne-Marie Faure, died in 1958 during surgery. He courted his second wife, Brigitte Bardot
, by flying over her villa on the French Riviera in a helicopter and dropping hundreds of roses. The couple were married on 14 July 1966 in Las Vegas; they divorced in 1969. His final marriage was to Swedish former model, Mirja Larsson, (who was 26 at the time of their engagement) which lasted from 1969 until his death. He had a son Rolf Sachs
(born 1955), with his first wife, and a further two sons (Christian Gunnar and Claus Alexander) with his third wife.
Sachs became a Swiss citizen in 1976.
. Turn 13 of the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun
is named in his honor.
: "Heroines" series.
For several years was the president of the Munich Museum of Modern Arts.
In 1972 he opened a gallery in Hamburg and organised the 1st European exhibition of his friend Andy Warhol. His big art collection included works by Jean Fautrier, Andy Warhol, César, Arman, Yves Klein, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann and Allen Jones.
using large samples. Sachs set out to test the assumptions of astrologers by gathering a team of scientists and statisticians which, over two years, analysed the lives of nearly one million men and women.
"In every case, there were significant results, way beyond what is explicable through mere coincidence," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail
newspaper on 6 November 1997.
To facilitate the research he set up the "Institute for the Empirical and Mathematical Examination of the Possible Truth of Astrology in Relation to Human Behaviour". Then, using established statistical techniques and with help from the official statistics office in Switzerland
(where the authorities have recorded the date and hour of birth of every citizen since 1875), his team gathered statistics
on every aspect of human life.
His methodology and the statistical analysis have been criticized by mathematicians. They found serious errors in all parts and deny any statistical significance
after the necessary corrections in his data.
, Switzerland
. The suicide note stated that he acted because of what he defined as "hopeless illness A." (which some have speculated to be Alzheimer's) adding that "The loss of mental control over my life was an undignified condition, which I decided to counter decisively".
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
photographer, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, industrialist, and latterly head of an institute that researched claims of astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
. As a young man he became a sportsman, then gained international fame as a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
film-maker
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
and documentary
Documentary photography
Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit...
photographer. He was interested in astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
and its connection with mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
.
Early life and family
Sachs was born in southern Germany. His mother was the daughter of Wilhelm von OpelWilhelm von Opel
Wilhelm von Opel was one of the founding figures of the German automobile manufacturer Opel. He introduced the assembly line to the German automobily industry....
; his father was Willy Sachs, sole owner of Fichtel & Sachs
ZF Sachs
ZF Sachs AG is a German manufacturer of automotive parts, producing powertrain and suspension components. It was formerly known as Fichtel & Sachs, Mannesmann Sachs and Sachs...
, a leading manufacturer of ball bearings and one of Germany’s biggest automobile suppliers. Willy was known to Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
and Heinrich Himmler and arrested by the American military after the war but finally declared a follower and released. Gunter Sachs commented on his father’s past in several publications. Willy committed suicide in 1958 by shooting himself. Sachs' brother, Ernst Wilhelm, died in an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
in 1977.
Personal life
A playboyPlayboy (lifestyle)
A playboy is a modern version of a public Casanova — a man of means with ample time for leisure, who demonstratively appreciates the pleasures of the world.The term has also been applied to a flashy womanizer, such as a player, pappagallo, or Don Juan....
in his early years, Sachs was romantically linked to the former Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian queen Soraya Esfandiary. He married three times. His first wife, Anne-Marie Faure, died in 1958 during surgery. He courted his second wife, Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
, by flying over her villa on the French Riviera in a helicopter and dropping hundreds of roses. The couple were married on 14 July 1966 in Las Vegas; they divorced in 1969. His final marriage was to Swedish former model, Mirja Larsson, (who was 26 at the time of their engagement) which lasted from 1969 until his death. He had a son Rolf Sachs
Rolf Sachs
-Family Background:Rolf Sachs was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, to Anne-Marie Faure and Gunter Sachs, the accomplished German industrialist, photographer, author and socialite descended from the well-known Sachs-Opel industrial families....
(born 1955), with his first wife, and a further two sons (Christian Gunnar and Claus Alexander) with his third wife.
Sachs became a Swiss citizen in 1976.
Sports
From 1969 until his death, Sachs was the chairman of the St. Moritz Bobsleigh ClubSt. Moritz Bobsleigh Club
The St. Moritz Bobsleigh Club, officially known as Bobclub St. Moritz is a club located in St. Moritz, Switzerland for members interested in bobsleigh and skeleton. Founded in 1897, it is the oldest of its type in the world...
. Turn 13 of the St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun
St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun
The St. Moritz-Celerina Olympic Bobrun is a bobsleigh piste located in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Constructed in 1903, it officially opened on New Year's Day 1904 and is the oldest bobsleigh track in the world and the only one that is naturally refrigerated...
is named in his honor.
Photographer and art-collector
Worked for Vogue, made 1st nude cover (French Vogue, 1972). In 1991 he worked with Claudia SchifferClaudia Schiffer
Claudia Schiffer is a German model and occasional actress, who reached the peak of her popularity during the 1990s, initially due to her resemblance to Brigitte Bardot. Schiffer is one of the world's most successful models, having appeared on over 500 magazine covers...
: "Heroines" series.
For several years was the president of the Munich Museum of Modern Arts.
In 1972 he opened a gallery in Hamburg and organised the 1st European exhibition of his friend Andy Warhol. His big art collection included works by Jean Fautrier, Andy Warhol, César, Arman, Yves Klein, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann and Allen Jones.
Astrological research
In the 1990s, Sachs made the international newspapers again after he commissioned major research into sun sign astrologySun sign astrology
Sun sign astrology is the form of astrology most commonly found in many newspaper and magazine columns. It is a simplified system of astrology which considers only the position of the Sun, which is said to be placed within one of the twelve zodiac signs depending on the month of birth...
using large samples. Sachs set out to test the assumptions of astrologers by gathering a team of scientists and statisticians which, over two years, analysed the lives of nearly one million men and women.
"In every case, there were significant results, way beyond what is explicable through mere coincidence," he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
newspaper on 6 November 1997.
To facilitate the research he set up the "Institute for the Empirical and Mathematical Examination of the Possible Truth of Astrology in Relation to Human Behaviour". Then, using established statistical techniques and with help from the official statistics office in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
(where the authorities have recorded the date and hour of birth of every citizen since 1875), his team gathered statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
on every aspect of human life.
His methodology and the statistical analysis have been criticized by mathematicians. They found serious errors in all parts and deny any statistical significance
Statistical significance
In statistics, a result is called statistically significant if it is unlikely to have occurred by chance. The phrase test of significance was coined by Ronald Fisher....
after the necessary corrections in his data.
Death
Sachs committed suicide on 7 May 2011 by a gunshot wound to the head at his home in GstaadGstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The suicide note stated that he acted because of what he defined as "hopeless illness A." (which some have speculated to be Alzheimer's) adding that "The loss of mental control over my life was an undignified condition, which I decided to counter decisively".
Literature
- Sachs, Gunter: The Astrology File: Scientific Proof of the Link Between Star Signs and Human Behaviour. Orion Books (December 1999). ISBN 0-7528-1789-2
- Elwell, Dennis: Cosmic Loom, 2nd edition 1999. The Urania Trust. ISBN 0-04-133027-7. Discussion and interpretation of some of Gunter Sachs results and related material.
External links
- http://www.guntersachs.ch/
- http://www.gunter-sachs.de
- http://www.astrology-and-science.com
- Obituary of Gunter Sachs, The Daily Telegraph, 9 May 2011