Eichens Willem Frédéric Guillaume)
Contenu
-
Nom
-
Eichens Willem Frédéric Guillaume)
-
Date de naissance
-
2311 1818
-
Date de mort
-
25-07 1884
-
Lieu de naissance
-
Berlin
-
Lieu de mort
-
Paris
-
Couverture temporelle
-
mid-19th century
-
Biographie
-
Eichens was born in Berlin but moved to Paris where he worked with Secretan (qv ) and was naturalised. In 1866. With Secretan's blessing he set up his own business but continued to collaborate closely with his former employer for whom he made the mechanical parts of telescopes and accessories.1 A gold medal received at the 1867 Universal Exhibition helped establish the new business.2 Eichens became probably the most important maker of large telescope mountings in France. A strong supporter and admirer of Eichens, even before he left Lerebours & Secretan, was Antoine d'Abbadie who declared in 1866 that he wished to help him as much was in his power. To do so he ordered some examples of his simplified surveying instrument, the Aba from him and gave him other work. In 1878 he ordered his decimal transit instrument from him, and shortly afterwards similar transit instruments (but non-decimal), were ordered for the observatories of Paris and Nice. Already however Eichens' health was deteriorating and although he accepted an order from the Académie des Sciences to make eight instruments to be used in the expeditions to observe the 1882 transit of Venus, he was unable to complete the order which was finished by his son in association with Paul Gautier (qv). Gautier, who had been a partner since 1881, concluded an agreement with Eichens to take over the business and complete the orders already received in early 1881. It was he therefore who completed, installed and signed the transit instrument for Nice.3
-
Notes biographiques
-
1 A micrometer signed by both of them and dated 1874 was fitted to the meridian circle of Marseille Observatory.
2 Tresca 339, considered that the medal was awarded rather for Eichens' work as Secretan & Lerebour's works manager than for his independent work.
3 Brenni, ‘19th Century French Scientific Instrument Makers III: Lerebours et Secretan’, Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society, 40 1994, 3-6 (4 & n. 9). Dossier Eichens: Passage de Vénus, 1882. A d S Archives Carton 1646. Apart from these instruments Eichens was also contracted to build large equatorial instruments for Paris and Nice together with 14 inch equatorials for Nice and Bordeaux and an instrument ‘of Lœwy. For these reasons wrote Charles Wolf to Rayet 22 February 1881 ‘Il est indispensable que l’atelier continue à travailler’. Archives de Observatoire de Bordeaux. I thank Lætitia Maison for these details.
-
Adresse ; enseigne ; période ; source
-
rue M Paris
-
77 rue d'Enfer, Paris
-
Distinction
-
Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur 1862
-
Identifiant
-
684
-
ark:/18469/1q2bg
-
Description
-
Musée retrospectif...