Lorenz Hengler (3 February 1806 – 1858) was a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

, and aeronaut, the first of three people to independently invent the horizontal

pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...

Life

Hengler was born to a family of farmers in Reichenhofen,

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

. At the age of fourteen he entered the Latin School of Leutkirch, and attended successively those of Ehingen and Tübingen; during his school holidays, he would entertain himself by building small balloons. In the winter of 1828 he studied mathematics and astronomy at

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, under the instruction of

Franz von Paula Gruithuisen Franz von Paula (Franciscus de Paula) Gruithuisen (19 March 1774 – 21 June 1852) was a Bavarian physician and astronomer. He taught medical students before becoming a professor of astronomy at the University of Munich in 1826. During his peri ...

, before leaving for financial reasons and finding employment in an optical workshop in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. Hengler was the first of three people to independently invent the horizontal pendulum, used in early modern

seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output ...

s. (The others were in 1862 and Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner in 1869.) He presented this invention to the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in 1831, and published it in 1832. During his time in Munich, Hengler also continued his interest in ballooning, building a large balloon which burst into flames shortly after taking off. He subsequently invented, tested, and published on a new model of conical

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

. Beginning in 1832, Hengler studied at the Tübingen Faculty of Catholic Theology until his ordination in 1835. He continued his work in astronomy as a priest, including working with his brother to build and sell telescopes. At the time of his death in 1858, he was pastor of Tigerfeld.

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1806 births 1858 deaths Catholic clergy scientists {{Germany-physicist-stub

Life

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