Georg Merz

Georg Merz
Merz 160/1790 1912–1930
Born	26 January 1793 Bichl, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Bavaria
Died	12 January 1867 Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria
Nationality	Bavarian
Occupation	optician
Known for	Merz astronomical telescopes

Georg Merz (26 January 1793 – 12 January 1867) was a Bavarian optician and manufacturer of astronomical telescopes and other optical instruments.

Life

Merz was born on 26 January 1793 in Bichl, in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, now in Bavaria, Germany.^[1] At the age of 15 he went to work in the glassworks recently set up by Joseph von Utzschneider in the nearby deconsecrated monastery of Benediktbeuern. There he became the assistant of Joseph Fraunhofer.^[2] From 1826, when Fraunhofer died, Merz was in charge of the optical division of the business. On the death of von Utzschneider in 1839 Merz, in partnership with Joseph Mahler, bought the firm.^[3] After Mahler's death he ran the business in partnership with his sons Ludwig and Sigmund. When Ludwig died in 1858 the name was changed to G. & S. Merz.^[3]

Georg Merz died in Munich on 12 January 1867.^[1] In 1882 the firm passed to Jacob and Matthias Merz, Sigmund's cousins,^[3] and in 1884 the Benediktbeuern works was closed. The company moved to Munich, and closed in 1903.^[2]

Illustration of the 11 inch "Merz and Mahler" refracting telescope (from "Smith's Illustrated Astronomy" 1848), Cincinnati Observatory

Telescopes

• The 1845 Merz und Mahler 11 inch refractor at the Cincinnati Observatory^[4]
• The Yellow House Observatory in Dover, MA^[5]
• 12½-inch Merz refractor telescope at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich^[6]
• 135mm G. & S. Merz equatorial refractor telescope at the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy^[7]
• 218mm Merz refractor telescope at the Brera Astronomical Observatory, Italy^[8][9]
• Georg Merz and Sons, vintage 7.25-inch refracting telescope at the Sydney Observatory^[10][11]
• Georg Merz and Sons, vintage refracting telescope at the Quito Astronomical Observatory

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  An 1875 Merz Telescopes at the Quito Astronomical Observatory

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  An 1875 Merz Telescopes at the Quito Astronomical Observatory

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  Side View, 1875 Merz Telescopes at the Quito Astronomical Observatory

References

1. Carl Preyß (1994). Merz, Georg (in German). In: Neue Deutsche Biographie, Volume 17. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. ISBN 3428001982. p. 199.
2. John Hearnshaw (2014). The Analysis of Starlight: Two Centuries of Astronomical Spectroscopy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107031746. p. 20.
3. [s.n.] (2010). G. & S. Merz firm. Museo Galileo – Institute and Museum of the History of Science , Florence, Italy. Accessed March 2015.
4. "Cincinnati Observatory – about". Retrieved 15 February 2015.
5. http://hutobservatory.com/historical-collection/ The HUT Observatory
6. "The Royal Observatory Greenwich". Royalobservatorygreenwich.org. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
7. Telescopio equatoriale di Merz: Georg Merz, Sigmund Merz - Monaco (Germania) - 1863 (in Italian). Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte: Museo degli Strumenti Astronomici. Accessed April 2015.
8. Cupola Schiaparelli e Telescopio Merz (in Italian). Università degli Studi di Milano: Museo Astronomico e Orto Botanico di Brera. Accessed April 2015.
9. Andrea Bernagozzi, Antonella Testa, Pasquale Tucci (2004). Observing Mars with Schiaparelli's telescope. In: Proceedings of the Third European Workshop on Exo-Astrobiology, 18 – 20 November 2003, Madrid, Spain. Noordwijk, Netherlands: ESA Publications Division. ISBN 9290928565. ESA SP-545: 157 - 158. Accessed April 2015.
10. http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/480704/view sciencephoto
11. http://observatoryhilleec.nsw.edu.au/ Sydney Observatory