From humble beginnings as the son of a poor glass grinder, Joseph von Fraunhofer pursued a successful business career in optics and, in the process, made important contributions to physics and the theory of light through his study of the dark lines in the solar spectrum. Fraunhofer was born in Straubing, Bavaria (now Germany). At the age of 12, after experiencing the death of both of his parents, Fraunhofer became an apprentice to a lens and mirror maker. Fraunhofer received little formal education during his childhood, and he possibly would have remained a glassmaker if not for an accident that nearly took his life.

In 1801, the house in which Fraunhofer worked collapsed. Buried but virtually unharmed, Fraunhofer came to the notice of Joseph Utzschneider, an entrepreneur, and Maximilian Joseph, who would later became King Maximilian I of Bavaria. Both men offered Fraunhofer financial and fatherly support. Scholars suggest Utzschneider...