- John Jacob Bausch
Infobox Person
name = John Jacob Bausch
image_size = 150px
caption =
birth_date = Birth date|1830|7|25
birth_place =
death_date = Death date|1926|2|24
death_place =
resting_place = Mount Hope Cemetery,Rochester, New York
other_names =
known_for = Co-FounderBausch and Lomb
occupation =Optician , Businessman
nationality = German
footnotes =John Jacob Bausch (
July 25 1830 -February 24 1926 ) was a German-Americanoptician who co-foundedBausch & Lomb (withHenry Lomb ).Born as "Johann Jakob Bausch" in
Großsüßen (today part ofSüßen ) inWürttemberg ,Germany to Georg Bausch, a baker, and his wife Anna Schmid. Bausch was eighteen when he moved toBerne, Switzerland , where he found work in an optical shop. The following year he emigrated to theUnited States .In 1853, Bausch opened a retail optical shop in
Rochester, New York . Bausch soldspectacles ,thermometers , field glasses, magnifiers andopera glasses . His friend Henry Lomb invested his savings in Bausch's shop and in 1855 became his partner.While walking in a New York street, Bausch found a piece of Vulcanite Rubber. He took it back to his workshop and discovered he could make eyeglass frames from the material. At that time frames were mainly made from
gold or European horn.In 1860, the Bausch & Lomb company built the first machine in America to produce spectacles. Lomb was in charge of sales and Bausch concentrated on manufacturing.
During the
American Civil War , the blockade caused the price of gold and European horn to rise dramatically. This resulted in a growing demand for the Bausch & Lomb spectacles made from Vulcanite.In 1876, the company began manufacturing
microscope s. Later that year the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company won a distinction at thePhiladelphia Centennial Exposition . The company also produced photographic lenses (1883), spectacle lenses (1889),microtome s (1890), binoculars and telescopes (1893).Bausch's company did very well during the
First World War as the war created a demand for binocular telescopes, searchlight mirrors, periscopes andtorpedo tube sights.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.