Jesse Ramsden (1735-1800)

Jesse Ramsden (1735-1800)

Jesse Ramsden, the son of a Yorkshire innkeeper, was born October 6, 1735. At the age of 16 he was apprenticed, first to a cloth worker and later to a scientific instrument maker in London. By the time he finished his apprenticeship he was highly skilled in engraving...
Plössl, Georg Simon (1794-1868)

Plössl, Georg Simon (1794-1868)

Georg Simon Plössl was born September 19th, 1794 in Wieden near Vienna. He was the son of a carpenter and learned to turn wood during an apprenticeship from September 28th 1807 to 1811.   On May, 9th 1812 he started to work with the Voigtlaender optical firm in...
Schmidt, Bernhard (1879-1935)

Schmidt, Bernhard (1879-1935)

Bernhard Schmidt was born on March, 30th 1879 as the first of 5 children to Karl Konstantin and his wife, Maria Helene. K.K. Schmidt was a writer on the island of Naissaar, which is off the coast of Tallinn, Estonia, in the Baltic Sea. He was also a farmer and...