When September 11 rolls around each year, I try to think of positives instead of what happened in 2001. It is hard to get rid of the bad thoughts, but thinking of the positives help outweigh them.

Did you know that Carl Zeiss was born on September 11?

You may know the name Zeiss because of your camera lenses, binoculars or eyeglasses. You may use a Zeiss microscope, coordinate measuring machine or other measurement device in your work. Many of the chips in the electronics you use are manufactured with Zeiss technology. You may have seen a star show in a planetarium that uses a Zeiss projector or maybe you were measured or treated with a Zeiss medical device.

Carl Zeiss was the founder of the company. He opened his first workshop in Jena, Germany in 1846.

Of course, Carl Zeiss is a very important person to me since I have worked for Zeiss for almost 30 years.

Carl Zeiss was born on September 11, 1816 in Weimar, Germany.

Somewhere in my archives I have a picture of the house his parents lived in when he was born.

Here is a picture of the Friedenskirche in Jena, Germany. Carl Zeiss is buried in the graveyard that surrounds the Friedenskirche.

I have many pictures of his gravestone that I have taken during trips to Jena.

Here we see the gravestone for Carl Zeiss. It is tucked back into a corner of the church yard at the end of a pathway.

Here we see Dr. Carl Zeiss’ information on the gravestone.

On the bottom part of the stone is information about his two wives. His first wife, Berta Schatter died young and his second wife was Ottilie Trinkler.

If you look closely at the picture you will also see the name Martin Luther. Ottilie Trinkler was a descendant of Martin Luther. I have the exact descent tucked away somewhere.

Another interesting bit of gravestone trivia is that the original gravestone that was made for Martin Luther is in another church in Jena. They appropriated it when it was on the way to his burial site in Wittenburg. See: Martin Luther’s Original Grave Plate

When I see the date September 11, I try to think of Carl Zeiss instead of what happened on this date in 2001.

However, it is hard to forget what happened 22 years ago.

Steven

WwRI