Ernst Leitz GmbH
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Ernst Leitz GmbH was a German corporation based in Wetzlar, a German centre for optics as well as an important location for the precision engineering industry.
History
Carl Kellner, mechanic and self-taught mathematician, published his treatise Das orthoskopische Ocular, eine neu erfundene achromatische Linsencombination (The orthoscopic ocular, a newly invented achromatic lens combination) in 1849, describing a new optical formula he had developed. The ocular was capable of rendering an image with the correct perspective, free of the distortions typical of other microscopes at that time. Following his early death on 13 May 1855, his widow continued the business he had left behind, the "Optisches Institut" (optical institute).
The fine mechanic
The microscopes were produced for biomedical as well as industrial purposes, including mineralogy. Leitz microscopes improved on other models of their day in several ways, including lighting and optics, particularly with
By the end of the 19th century, the company had a worldwide reputation. Its product range by this point included several optical instruments besides microscopes. At the beginning of the new century, Leitz introduced eight-hour days and founded a health insurance society for employees. In 1913, it introduced a first fully functional
Around 1920, Leitz employed around 1400 people, and by 1956, 6000. In 1924 Ernst Leitz II decided that in spite of the weak economy, the apparatus designed by his employee Oskar Barnack should enter serial production.
As part of working on cinematic gear, Barnack had customized
In 1925, the first polarising microscope was made, and in 1931 the first comparative macroscope for criminological applications. In 1932, Leitz pioneered a
In the late 1930s, Ernst Leitz II assisted a number of Jewish employees in fleeing Germany. In 1942, Ernst Leitz GmbH employed a total of 195 foreign citizens. By January 1945, there were 989 forced laborers, 643 of them "Ostarbeiter", predominantly from Ukraine, and 316 "Westarbeiter" from France and the Benelux.[3]
Besides cameras and microscopes, Leitz developed further optical products that would define the mid-20th century, such as slide projectors of the "Prado" series, Leitz episcopes that were frequently used in schools and the Trinovid binoculars series.
One by one, the three sons (Ludwig, Ernst and Günther) of Ernst Leitz II began work at the company. Having remained intact through World War II, the production facilities could be restarted immediately after the war ended. In 1948, a separate development lab for optical glass was added, and from 1953, the design of microscope optics was computer-assisted. Upon the death of their father in 1956, the three sons jointly assumed leadership of the company.
Successors
In the late 20th century the company was divided into four independent companies:
- Leica Camera, manufacturer of camera and sport optics equipment
- Leica Geosystems, manufacturer of geodetic equipment
- Leica Microsystems, manufacturer of microscopes and owner of the Leica brand
- Leica Biosystems, a cancer diagnostics company
References
- ^ US Patent US4087153A Binoculars with double hinge bridge and resilient biasing
- ^ Leica Microsystems Archived 2009-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 23 August 2015.
- ^ See footnote 20 in Porezag, Karsten: Ernst Leitz aus Wetzlar und die Juden – Mythos und Fakten zur Emigration deutscher Juden 1933–1941 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, www.porezag.de, accessed 23 August 2015.