Johann Carl Wilhelm Anton Bamberg (born 12 July 1847 in Kranichfeld, died 4 June 1892 in Friedenau) was a German engineer and entrepreneur. He began his career as an apprentice at

Carl Zeiss Carl Zeiss (; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Zeiss (company), Zeiss. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted p ...

. In 1871 he founded his own company, manufacturing

cathetometer A cathetometer is an instrument for measuring vertical distances in cases where a scale cannot be placed very close to the points whose distance apart is desired. The instrument consists essentially of an accurately graduated scale and a horizon ...

s and

planimeter A planimeter, also known as a platometer, is a measuring instrument used to determine the area of an arbitrary two-dimensional shape. Construction There are several kinds of planimeters, but all operate in a similar way. The precise way in whic ...

s. He manufactured equatorial telescopes for the Düsseldorf Observatory, the Jena Observatory and the Urania Berlin Observatory. He is best known for the Bamberg-Refraktor, a large telescope in Berlin. In 1878 he set up a

time ball A time ball or timeball is a time-signalling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators aboard ships offshore to verify the setting of their marine chron ...

station at

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

. After his death, his company became Askania-Werke AG, which continues to this day.

Family

His parents were Johann Christian Heinrich Bamberg from Kranichfeld and Johanna Dorothe Karoline, Heintz, from Berka. He married Emma Caroline Roux (1847–1908), daughter of University of Jena fencing master Friedrich Wilhelm Roux, on 26 April 1874. They had two sons, Ernst Wilhelm Julius Bamberg (1875–1882) and Paul Adolf Bamberg (1876-1946).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamberg, Carl German watchmakers (people) 1847 births 1892 deaths