Ernst Abbe

Born 23 January 1840, Abbe trained as a physicist and optical engineer in Germany at a moment when microscopes were still more art than science. Partnering with Carl Zeiss and glass chemist Otto Schott, he developed instruments that pushed the limits of what optical systems could resolve. The work made him co-owner of Carl Zeiss AG, a manufacturer whose telescopes and microscopes became standard tools in labs and observatories. But Abbe turned the wealth toward something unexpected: he restructured the company as a foundation with profit-sharing, shorter hours, and pensions — a experiment in i…