Jean Brunner or Johann Josef Brunner (1804 in
Balsthal – 1862 in Paris), was a Swiss-born, French measuring instrument maker and mechanic.
[Eveline Hänggi: ''Die fünf Turmuhren von Balsthal und der vergessene Balsthaler Künstler Johann Josef Brunner in Paris.'' Balsthal 1995.]
Biography
Jean Brunner was born in
Balsthal,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
(
Canton Solothurn). He spent part of his apprenticeship with his father Johann Jakob Brunner in the locksmith's shop. In 1826 he moved to
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and finally to Paris in 1828, where he Frenchified his name. He worked there with Frederic Hutzinger and Jacques Louis Vincent Chevalier. He opened his first own workshop around 1830 at 34 Rue des Bernardin. In 1845 he moved to 183 Rue de Vaugirard. He died in Paris in 1862 at the age of 58.
After the death of Jean Brunner, his sons Emile (1834–1895) and Leon (1840–1894) took over the small company, which from then on was called Brunner Frères. With the death of Emile Brunner, the company went out in 1895.
Achievements
Jean Brunner made a name for himself far beyond the borders of France by manufacturing high-precision instruments such as
microscope
A microscope () is a laboratory equipment, laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic ...
s,
telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...
s,
theodolite
A theodolite () is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated visible points in the horizontal and vertical planes. The traditional use has been for land surveying, but it is also used extensively for building and ...
s, compasses and
astronomical instruments
An astronomical instrument is a device for observing, measuring or recording astronomical data. They are used in the scientific field of astronomy, a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos, with t ...
.
See also
*
Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero
Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero, 1st Marquis of Mulhacén, (14 April 1825 – 28 or 29 January 1891) was a Spanish divisional general and geodesist. He represented Spain at the 1875 Conference of the Metre Convention and was the first presid ...
– 1st president of the
International Committee for Weights and Measures
The General Conference on Weights and Measures (abbreviated CGPM from the ) is the supreme authority of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the intergovernmental organization established in 1875 under the terms of the Metre C ...
and president of the
International Geodetic Association
References
External links
* Johann Josef Brunner
Mikroskop-Museum* Firmengeschichte Brunner
Kambeck* A pocket microscope by Brunner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Johann Josef
1862 deaths
1804 births
Swiss emigrants to France
19th-century French businesspeople
French industrialists
Microscopists
Mechanics (people)