Henry Lomb ( – ) was a German-American

optician An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

who co-founded

Bausch & Lomb Bausch + Lomb is an eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intraocular lenses, and other eye surgery products. The compan ...

(with

John Jacob Bausch John Jacob Bausch (born Johann Jakob Bausch; July 25, 1830 – February 14, 1926) was a German-American maker of optical instruments who co-founded Bausch & Lomb (with Henry Lomb). Over six decades he transformed his small, local optical shop int ...

) and led a group of businessmen to found The Mechanics Institute, the forerunner of

Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in the town of Henrietta, New York, Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree ...

Biography

Lomb was born in

Burghaun Burghaun is a municipality in the district of Fulda in the state of Hessen in Germany. Burghaun itself is a small town with about 3,800 residents. Following the administrative reorganization of Germany in 1972 when smaller communities were group ...

Hessen-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was imperial immediacy, directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created i ...

(or Hessen-Cassel),

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 ...

. He emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1849 and settled in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, where he worked as a cabinet-maker. When his friend,

, the owner of a retail optical shop in Rochester, needed additional capital in 1854, he loaned him $60 on Bausch's promise that, if the business ever grew to such an extent that he needed a partner, Lomb would be brought in. The business did grow and together they formed the Bausch & Lomb Company. Lomb enlisted in the 13th New York Volunteer Infantry and fought in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

as sergeant, lieutenant and captain. When the war ended, he left the military and returned to the company. In 1885, Lomb, along with Max Lowenthal, Ezra R. Andrews, Frank Ritter, William F. Peck and others, founded the Mechanics Institute (now

), whose mission was to offer "education for making a living." Lomb served as chairman of the Institute Board until 1891, and continued to be a strong supporter of the school until his death. Henry Lomb died suddenly in

Pittsford, New York Pittsford is a town in Monroe County, New York. A suburb of Rochester, its population was 30,617 at the time of the 2020 census. The Town of Pittsford (formerly part of the town of Northfield) was settled in 1789 and incorporated in 1796. The ...

at the age of 79. He is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester.

Legacy

The following have been named in Henry Lomb's honor: *

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

'' SS Henry Lomb'', hull number 1784 *Henry Lomb School, elementary school #20 in

*Lomb Memorial Drive and the Bausch & Lomb Center, both on the campus of the

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lomb, Henry 1828 births 1908 deaths American Civil War industrialists Burials at Mount Hope Cemetery (Rochester) Hessian emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from Rochester, New York American opticians People from Pittsford, New York