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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Zeiss | 1/7 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Zeiss | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T17:16:44.046772+00:00 | kb-cron |
Carl Zeiss (German: [kaʁl ˈtsaɪs]; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Zeiss. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted practical and theoretical opticians and glass makers to reshape most aspects of optical instrument production. His collaboration with Ernst Abbe revolutionized optical theory and practical design of microscopes. Their quest to extend these advances brought Otto Schott into the enterprises to revolutionize optical glass manufacture. The firm of Carl Zeiss grew to one of the largest and most respected optical firms in the world.
== Birth and family == Carl's father, Johann Gottfried August Zeiss (1785–1849) was born in Rastenberg, where his forefathers had worked as artisans for over 100 years. August moved with his parents to Buttstädt, a small regional capital north of Weimar, where he married Johanna Antoinette Friederike Schmith (1786–1856). Carls Zeiss's mother was related to Christiane Vulpius, the spouse of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. August Zeiss then moved to Weimar, the capital of the grand duchy of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, leaving the family business in the hands of his brothers. There he became a well respected ornamental turner, crafting lathe turned work in mother of pearl, amber, ivory, and other exotic materials. He came into contact with the crown prince, and later grand duke, Karl Friedrich of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1783–1853), the successor to Carl August. The crown prince sought a master to teach him ornamental turning and found one in August Zeiss. The friendship of master and apprentice lasted 40 years. When a son was born to the Zeiss family on 11 September 1816 as the fifth of six surviving children, the newborn son was baptized in honor of his godfather the crown prince and his father the archduke, Carl Friedrich. Of Zeiss's siblings, three sisters and two brothers reached adulthood. Before 1885, the family name was spelled Zeiß.
== Education == Higher education was the only path to social mobility at the time and August Zeiss sent all three of his sons to the university preparatory high school, the "Gymnasium", as preparation for the university. The two elder sons studied philology and history and went on to successful careers in education. In one of the accidents which shape history, Carl suffered from an inguinal hernia which required him to wear a truss constantly. The deskbound life of a scholar seemed a poor choice for him. Carl attended the Wilhelm Ernst Gymnasium in Weimar but left early. He sat a special end exam to allow him to study specific subjects at the university, principally the natural sciences. He showed an interest in technical studies very early, to the extent that he attended lectures at the grand ducal technical school in Weimar and finally decided to pursue an apprenticeship as a master machinist. Carl moved to Jena at Easter of 1834 to pursue an apprenticeship under the "Hofmechanikus," court-appointed precision machinist, and private docent at the University of Jena, Friedrich Körner (1778–1847). His new master was well known beyond his local university town and his workshop is fairly well documented since he made and repaired instruments for the famous polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Zeiss remained for four years as an apprentice. For the last two years, he enrolled as a student and attended one mathematics or sciences lecture course per semester at the university, as was his right under his gymnasium certificate. He completed his apprenticeship in 1838 and departed on his journeyman years with the good wishes and recommendation of master Körner and a certificate of his studies at the university. This was a time when the steam engine and locomotives exercised a powerful draw on young engineers so it is understandable that Carl Zeiss turned his special attention to mechanical engineering. In his travels from 1838 to 1845 he worked in Stuttgart, Darmstadt, Vienna and Berlin. There are few details of these studies, but it appears that he worked for Hektor Rössler, instrument maker and "Hofmechanikus" at Darmstadt. Rössler was involved in optical and scientific instrument production as well as steam power. In Vienna, the center for heavy machinery production in central Europe, he worked for Rollé und Schwilqué. His stay in Vienna also offered the opportunity to attend the Sunday Lectures on popular mechanics at the Polytechnic Institute of Vienna. He also sat for an exam at the institute which he passed with distinction. Finally, in Berlin, he worked in a machinist's shop.