Hugo Adolph Steinheil

Hugo Adolph Steinheil
1832-1893

August's son Adolph was strongly inclined toward optics and astronomy. He studied at Munich and Augsburg, and accompanied his father to Vienna in 1850 at the age of 18 while the latter was organizing the telegraph system there. Adolph returned to Munich in 1852 to devote himself entirely to optics. He took a prominent part in the establishment of the Steinheil Optical Institute there in May 1855. Working with his friend L. P. von Seidel (1821-1896), Adolph designed the Periskop in 1865 and the Aplanat in 1866. There was a great argument as to the priority of the invention of the Aplanat and Dallmeyer's Rapid Rectilinear, and it appeared that Steinheil had priority, but only by a few weeks.

In 1866 Adolph purchased his father's interest in the Optical Institute, which then became C. A. Steinheil Sohne. Adolph went on to design many other lenses, including the Group and Portrait Antiplanets in 1881. He collaborated with Ernst Voit in writing a book on lens design in 1891, two years before his death.

REFERENCE: J. M. Eder, History of Photography, trans. E. Epstean, p. 403. Dover, New York, 1978.

Maintained by John Loomis, last updated 17 Feb 2004