Carl August von Steinheil

Carl August von Steinheil (12 October 1801 – 14 September 1870) was a German physicist, inventor, engineer and astronomer. Steinheil was born in Ribeauvillé, Alsace. He studied law in Erlangen since 1821. He then studied astronomy in Göttingen and Königsberg. He continued his studies in astronomy and physics while living in his father's manor in Perlachseck near Munich. From 1832 to 1849, Steinheil was professor for mathematics and physics at the University of Munich. In late 1838 or early 1839, Steinheil, along with Franz von Kobell, used silver chloride and a cardboard camera to make pictures in negative of the Frauenkirche and other Munich buildings, then taking another picture of the negative to get a positive, the actual black and white reproduction of a view on the object. The pictures produced were round with a diameter of 4 cm, the method was later named the “Steinheil method.” Several of these photographs were exhibited by Steinheil throughout April and Summer 1839. In July 1839, Steinheil demonstrated his photography method at Nymphenburg Palace in the presence of Queen Therese. Steinheil was also one of the first to use the daguerreotype in Germany. By December 1839, he made the first portable metal camera in the world. It was nineteen times smaller than the camera sold by Daguerre. At least ten of these cameras were manufactured. In 1846, Steinheil travelled to Naples to install a new system for weight and measure units. Three years later, he was appointed to the Board of Telegraphy of the Austrian Trade Ministry. Steinheil was tasked with designing a telegraph network for the entire empire, and helped to form the Deutsch-Österreichischer Telegraphenverein (German-Austrian Telegraph Society). In 1851, he started the Swiss telegraph network. Steinheil returned Munich as konservator (curator) of the mathematical-physical collections and ministerial secretary in the Trade Ministry of Bavaria. In 1854, he founded C. A. Steinheil & Söhne, an optical-astronomical company.