Georg Friedrich Brander (* 28. November 1713 in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

; † 1. April 1783 in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

) was an important maker of

scientific instruments A scientific instrument is a device or tool used for scientific purposes, including the study of both natural phenomena and theoretical research. History Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, an ...

Early years

Brander was born 1713 to Georg Brandner, an apothecary with roots in Nuremberg, and Sibylla Katharina Brandner (widowed Pfaffreuter, 1678–1756) from a Regensburg goldsmith family. He studied in Altdorf bei Nürnberg from 1731 to 1734

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

under the supervision of

Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr (27 September 1677 – 1 December 1750) was a German mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer. (His surname is also spelled Doppelmayer and Doppelmair.) Professional life and publications He was born in Nuremberg, t ...

Professional work

In 1734 he moved to

(

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

), where he founded a workshop for fine mechanics. He was supported by local financier Josef von Halder with capital and in establishing a business network. Brander was the first one in Germany to build a mirror telescope in 1737. Since 1754 the workshop has produced also

microscopes A microscope () is a 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 means being invisibl ...

, and the high-resolution micrometer glass

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

s were its speciality. A telescope, coupled in 1776 with a map of the starry sky, is named "starfinder". In 1778 he invented the coincidence telemeter, a device used to measure distances to remote objects. In those years,

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

was an important task and Brander delivered a substantial number of optical instruments, e.g.

sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celes ...

goniometer A goniometer is an instrument that either measures an angle or allows an object to be rotated to a precise angular position. The term goniometry derives from two Greek words, γωνία (''gōnía'') 'angle' and μέτρον (''métron'') 'me ...

leveling instrument A level is an optical instrument used to establish or verify points in the same horizontal plane in a process known as levelling, and is used in conjunction with a levelling staff to establish the relative height levels of objects or marks. It is ...

and a predecessor of today'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 i ...

. He also published several writings on

mechanics Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects r ...

. He gave a precise description and manual with each of his instruments, which was unusual at that time. Brander won moderate fame by building precision machines for many European courts and academies. A collection of his instruments can be found at

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...

, München.Alto Brachner
''Georg Friedrich Brandner, ein fast vergessener süddeutscher Mechanicus''
Kultur & Technik, 1980 (in German) In today's Augsburg, a street bears his name (''Branderstraße'').

Family life

He married Sabina Barbara Thennin ( Marriage symbol

1754-02-14) and had a daughter Barbara Eurphrosina who married his business partner Christoph Caspar Hoeschel (1744-1820). After Brander's death, Hoeschel continued the fine mechanics business and could keep the high reputation for quality instruments. After Hoeschel died, his son took over and the workshop soon lost his relevance.

Publications

External links

Illustrated Inventory
of Brander's Instruments at Deutsches Museum

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brander, Georg 18th-century German inventors Mechanics (people) 1713 births 1783 deaths Surveying instruments