Ernst Abbe

Ernst Abbe was born in Eisenach on 23 January 1840 to a humble family. Thanks to a scholarship, he was able to begin studying to become a mathematician and a physicist. He studied in Jena and Göttingen from 1857 to 1861. In 1863, Abbe qualified as a professor in Jena, where he then worked as a private lecturer.

Already as a young scientist, Abbe placed his knowledge at the disposal of Carl Zeiss. He was hired as a scientist in 1866. From 1870, Abbe was a professor at the University of Jena. His theory of microscope imaging made him the founder of scientific optics and gave Carl Zeiss an important technological boost:

While microscopes had previously been built only by using the trial-and-error method, from 1872 on they were designed on the foundation of sound scientific calculations, thereby exhibiting vastly improved optical properties. This in turn allowed for pioneering research in biology and medicine, such as that by Robert Koch and Paul Ehrlich. In 1876, Carl Zeiss made his dedicated employee a partner and appointed him to take over as head of the company. After the death of the company founder in 1888 and acquisition of the shares from Zeiss’ heirs, Ernst Abbe became the sole director of the industrial company.

Together with Otto Schott, Carl Zeiss and Roderich Zeiss, Abbe founded Glastechnisches Labortorium Otto Schott & Genossen in Jena in 1884. The global reputation SCHOTT enjoys as one of the world's leading special glass manufacturers was born of the successful collaboration between Abbe, Zeiss and Schott.

Abbe was an exceptionally successful entrepreneur. In 1862, 25 employees worked at Carl Zeiss, generating a revenue of 12,618 marks. The year Ernst Abbes died, the company employed nearly 1,400 staff, with revenue of over 5 million marks.

Abbe was a courageous reformer whose sociopolitical ideas were well ahead of their time. To ensure the continuation of the company regardless of the personal interests of the owners, Abbe established the Carl Zeiss Foundation in 1889, which he made the sole owner of the Zeiss works and partial owner of the SCHOTT works in 1891 (in 1919, Otto Schott also transferred his shares in the glassworks to the foundation).

With the foundation charter of 1896, Abbe provided the company with unique corporate governance. In addition to extraordinarily forward-thinking provisions regarding company management and legally stipulated work relations, the charter also reflected Abbe’s social commitment. For example, employees had co-determination rights, paid vacation, profit-sharing, a documented right to retirement pay, continued payment of wages in the event of illness, and, starting in 1900, an eight-hour workday. This made Foundation companies Carl Zeiss and SCHOTT forerunners of modern social legislation. Abbe’s amazing creative power is demonstrated by his numerous inventions and his publications on scientific, entrepreneurial and social issues. He died in Jena on 14 January 1905.