Carl Friedrich Zeiss
1816 - 1888
Carl Friedrich Zeiss was born on 11 September 1816 in Weimar. Zeiss got his hands-on training as an apprentice to Dr. Friedrich Kšrner, a machinest and maker of fine instruments for the German court. Zeiss got his intellectual training at the University of Jena, where he attended lectures on mathematics, physics, anthropology, mineralogy, and optics. He also studied under Professor Schleiden at the Physiological Institute in Jena.
In 1846, Zeiss applied to Weimar authorities to open a mechanical workshop at Neugasse 7 in Jena on the Saale River. His earliest products included microscopes.
Zeiss was a skilled instrument maker, but he recognized he did not have the scientific knowledge to take his optical instruments to a higher level. In 1866, Zeiss interested Ernst Abbe (1840-1905) in the challenges of fine image formation in microscopy. Abbe had recently joined the University of Jena as a physics lecturer, and he took up the problem with enthusiasm. Abbe and Zeiss made a deal in which Abbe would direct research at the Carl Zeiss Optisches Werkstätte, Jena.
Abbe's application of optical theory to the design of lenses was nothing short of brilliant, establishing the modern approach to the development of optical components. The Zeiss microscopes produced using Abbe's theoretical approach were widely praised. Abbe was made a professor at the University of Jena in 1875. Carl Zeiss made Abbe a full partner of the firm in 1876.
Abbe also helped to bring Otto Schott (1851-1935) on board at the Zeiss optical works. Schott was a chemist specializing in glass. In the early 1880s, Schott agree to develop new forms of optical glass using scientific methods. Schott and Zeiss formed a company, Schott & Genossen Glaswerke, which set up a glass technology laboratory in Jena.
With better glass and better design, Zeiss products were in high demand. Before he died, the Zeiss firm employed about 250 workmen and had delivered its 10,000th microscope.
Carl Zeiss died on 3 December 1888 in Jena.
In 1846, Zeiss applied to Weimar authorities to open a mechanical workshop at Neugasse 7 in Jena on the Saale River. His earliest products included microscopes.
Zeiss was a skilled instrument maker, but he recognized he did not have the scientific knowledge to take his optical instruments to a higher level. In 1866, Zeiss interested Ernst Abbe (1840-1905) in the challenges of fine image formation in microscopy. Abbe had recently joined the University of Jena as a physics lecturer, and he took up the problem with enthusiasm. Abbe and Zeiss made a deal in which Abbe would direct research at the Carl Zeiss Optisches Werkstätte, Jena.
Abbe's application of optical theory to the design of lenses was nothing short of brilliant, establishing the modern approach to the development of optical components. The Zeiss microscopes produced using Abbe's theoretical approach were widely praised. Abbe was made a professor at the University of Jena in 1875. Carl Zeiss made Abbe a full partner of the firm in 1876.
Abbe also helped to bring Otto Schott (1851-1935) on board at the Zeiss optical works. Schott was a chemist specializing in glass. In the early 1880s, Schott agree to develop new forms of optical glass using scientific methods. Schott and Zeiss formed a company, Schott & Genossen Glaswerke, which set up a glass technology laboratory in Jena.
With better glass and better design, Zeiss products were in high demand. Before he died, the Zeiss firm employed about 250 workmen and had delivered its 10,000th microscope.
Carl Zeiss died on 3 December 1888 in Jena.
"Carl Zeiss - A History Of A Most Respected Name In Optics," Company Seven, http://www.company7.com/zeiss/history.html (accessed 02/12/2015)