[ENG]
Bernhard Woldemar Schmidt (11 April [O.S. 30 March] 1879 on Naissaar, Estonia, Russian Empire – 1 December 1935 in Hamburg, Germany) was a Estonian optician. In 1930 he invented the Schmidt telescope which corrected for the optical errors of spherical aberration, coma, and astigmatism, making possible for the first time the construction of very large, wide-angled reflective cameras of short exposure time for astronomical research.
Schmidt was the son of Carl Constantin and Marie Helene Christine Schmidt. He was born and grew up on the island of Naissaar. The inhabitants of this island, mainly Estonian Swedes, generally spoke Swedish or Estonian, but the Schmidt family also spoke German. Bernhard was the oldest of six children, three boys (one of whom died in infancy) and three girls.
Naissaar was a small, rural island whose population mainly supported themselves through fishing and piloting ships into the port of Reval. With his younger brother August Fredrik, Bernhard Schmidt engaged in many childhood adventures on the island. He was an extremely inquisitive, inventive, and imaginative young person and adult. For example, when young he built his own camera from a purchased lens and old concertina bellows and succeeded in photographing his local surroundings and various family members, and even sold some of his photos. He also became fascinated with the night sky and constellations.
One misadventure proved tragic and marked Schmidt for the rest of his life. When he was 15 years old, he experimented with gunpowder. He packed an iron pipe with a charge, but through a mistake with the fuse the pipe exploded, and he lost the thumb and index finger of his right hand. Despite his mother's attempts to clean and bandage the wounds, surgeons in Tallinn later amputated the whole hand. This event appears to have deepened his reserve and introspection, qualities well noted by his contemporaries in later life. In spite of his loss, Schmidt was soon experimenting and inventing again. He also took more photos and became adept at developing and printing them. In 1895 he moved to Tallinn, and for a time worked at retouching photographs. Later he worked for the Volta Electrical Motor Works and became skilled in drafting.
Gradually, Schmidt found his true calling, namely the grinding and polishing of highly precise optics for astronomical applications. He seems to have begun the grinding of mirrors sometime around 1901, and thereafter began to sell some of his products to amateur astronomers. By March 1904, he had made so much progress in his new endeavor that after finishing his studies, he was soon in contact with professionals at the major observatories in Germany. His business rapidly took off when noted astronomers such as Hermann Carl Vogel, and Karl Schwarzschild realized the excellence of Schmidt's mirrors for their researches.
Learn more about Schmidt from Wikipedia.
[EST]
Bernhard Schmidt (11. aprill (vkj 30. märts) 1879 Naissaar – 1. detsember 1935 Hamburg) oli Eesti optik, astronoom ja leiutaja. Tema tuntuim leiutis on 1930. aastal välja töötatud teleskoop ehk Schmidti kaamera, mis võimaldab suurtelt taevaaladelt saada vigadeta pilte. Kuulsaks sai see aga alles 15 aastat hiljem, kui leiutis võeti kasutusele USA-s Mount Palomari observatooriumis.
Bernhard Schmidt sündis Naissaarel. Ta oli juba lapsest peale uudishimuliku ja loova meelega: tahus kirvega jääst läätsesid, meisterdas saksakeelse juhendi järgi fotoaparaadi ja tegi fotosid ning valmistas ise püssirohtu. Ühel saatuslikul päeval juhtus lõhkeaine katsetamise käigus õnnetus, mille tagajärjel ta kaotas parema käelaba. Hoolimata vigastusest ei lõpetanud noormees katsetamist. Ta hakkas tegelema rohkem fotograafiaga ning töötas hiljem Volta tehases joonestajana. Schmidti hakkas eriti huvitama astronoomia ning optika. Selles vallas leidisi ta lõpuks oma kutsumuse. Bernhard Schmidt suri 1. detsembril 1935 Hamburgi haiglas kopsupõletikku ja maeti Hamburg-Bergedorfi observatooriumi lähedale.
Bernhard Schmidti elust on väga huvitava raamatu kirjutanud Jaan Kross. See kannab nime "Vastutuulelaev" ning soovitan seda kindlasti lugeda.