Ernst Abbe

The name Ernst Abbe (1840-1905) is closely associated with the city of Jena. He was born in 1840 to a working-class family in Eisenach. His high talent was recognized early and both parents and teachers provided him with a very good education. Abbe studied mathematics, physics, astronomy and philosophy in Jena and Göttingen. At the age of about 30, he was appointed associate professor in Jena. The collaboration between Ernst Abbe and Carl Zeiss in Jena had already begun in 1867. Working on the improvement of microscopes in the Zeiss workshop, with the aim of taking them out of the realm of mere empiricism, the so-called "Pröbelns", Ernst Abbe was faced with a life's work: He finally developed the "new microscopy" - an overall scientific and technical achievement based on calculations, which became the prerequisite for the coming research into micro-organisms.