Georg Merz Explained

Georg Merz
Birth Date:26 January 1793
Birth Place:Bichl, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Bavaria
Death Date:12 January 1867
Death Place:Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria
Nationality:Bavarian
Occupation:optician
Known For:Merz astronomical telescopes

Georg Merz (26 January 1793 – 12 January 1867) was a Bavarian optician and manufacturer of astronomical telescopes and other optical instruments.

Life

Merz was born on 26 January 1793 in Bichl, in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, now in Bavaria, Germany. At the age of 15 he went to work in the glassworks recently set up by in the nearby deconsecrated monastery of Benediktbeuern. There he became the assistant of Joseph Fraunhofer. From 1826, when Fraunhofer died, Merz was in charge of the optical division of the business. On the death of von Utzschneider in 1839 Merz, in partnership with Joseph Mahler, bought the firm. After Mahler's death he ran the business in partnership with his sons Ludwig and Sigmund. When Ludwig died in 1858 the name was changed to G. & S. Merz.

Georg Merz died in Munich on 12 January 1867. In 1882 the firm passed to Jacob and Matthias Merz, Sigmund's cousins, and in 1884 the Benediktbeuern works was closed. The company moved to Munich, and closed in 1903.

Telescopes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cincinnati Observatory – about. 15 February 2015.
  2. Web site: Harvard College Observatory: Great Refractor. CfA Web Services. Group. www.cfa.harvard.edu. 11 December 2023 .
  3. Web site: Kleine koepel: 6-duims kijker – Werkgroep Leidse Sterrewacht. werkgroepleidsesterrewacht.nl. nl. 2018-10-27.
  4. http://hutobservatory.com/historical-collection/ The HUT Observatory
  5. Web site: The Royal Observatory Greenwich. Royalobservatorygreenwich.org. 20 December 2014.
  6. http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/480704/view sciencephoto
  7. http://observatoryhilleec.nsw.edu.au/ Sydney Observatory
  8. Web site: 2015-09-24. WFS History. 2021-11-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20150924073920/http://www.planetarium-berlin.de/pages/hist/WFS-History.html. 24 September 2015.