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Carl August von Steinheil (October 12, 1801 - September 14, 1870) was a German physicist, inventor, and engineer. He studied law in Erlangen, but when he continued his studies in his leisure time it was spent in the fields of astronomy and physics. From 1832 to 1849, he was professor for mathematics and physics at the University of Munich. In 1839, he used silver chloride and a cardboard camera to make pictures in negative, then taking another picture of the negative to get a positive, the actual black and white reproduction of a view on the object. Named the "Steinheil method" it was the first daguerreotype in Germany. In 1849 he was appointed to the Board of Telegraphy of the Austrian Trade Ministry. and was tasked with designing a telegraph network for the entire empire which took him two years to complete. In 1854, he founded an optical-astronomical company that built telescopes, spectroscopes, photometers (one of his inventions, used to measure brightness), large telescopes for observatories, refractors and reflectors with silver-covered mirrors. He retired in 1862 and his sons took over the business. He died in 1870 at the age of 68. Steinheilite, a transparent mineral, was named after him.
