Physicist who is often thought of as one of the fathers of modern optics. He had a hand in the development of several key instruments, such as the microscope and telescope.
He was born in Eisenach and earned his PhD from a university in Gottingen in March 1861.
The crater on the Moon known as Abbe was named in his honor.
He married Else Snell in 1871.
He and Roy J. Glauber are both well-known physicists in the field of optics.
