Wilhelm Exner was a doctor, professor, court councilor, section head, member of the Imperial Council, member of the House of Lords and president of many associations, as well as honorary president of the Trade Association. He described himself as a man who was more inclined to be a teacher and advocate of progress in the field of technology than a researcher and scholar.
In 1862, at the age of 22, Exner was the youngest graduate of the Polytechnic Institute in the subject group of descriptive geometry, building science, and mechanical engineering. In the same year, he visited the World’s Fair in London with a group of entrepreneurs, laying the foundation for his later political and business network.
Exner’s traces are unmistakable. He established the modern type of vocational school in Austria with the founding of the TGM, is considered one of the creators of the Chamber of Labor, was a co-founder of the Technical Museum and was involved in legislation. For example, the 1910 law on testing and materials testing can be traced back to him.