Ferdinand Adolph Lange

Background

Ferdinand Adolph Lange was born on February 18, 1815, in Dresden, Germany, into a family of a gunsmith.

Education

Lange grew up with foster parents who encouraged him in his ambitions and allowed him to study at the newly founded Royal Technical College, the precursor of what is now the University of Dresden. There, Lange was able to develop his scientific talents. Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, who was later appointed clockmaker to the court, quickly recognized the youngster’s exceptional aptitude and became his apprentice master and mentor. He was a brilliant student and also followed classes at Dresden's Polytechnikum institute for language training in English and French.

During his studies with Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, Ferdinand Adolph Lange revealed himself to have a flair for craft, a work ethic, and intelligence. He completed his studies with distinction - before traveling to France, then the hub of precision watchmaking, in 1837. After an apprenticeship in Dresden, Lange moved to Paris where he studied under the chronometer-maker Joseph Thaddéus Winnerl.

Career

Two years after moving to Paris, Lange was employed by Winnerl as foreman; the offer of Winnerl for a live-long job was however declined by Lange. After four years in Paris, he continued his wandering years and toured England and Switzerland, before in 1841 he returned to the art clock factory of Gutkaes with many new ideas. In 1844, he invented the Glashutte lever escapement.

In December 1845 Lange, with the help of a loan from the Royal Saxon government, founded his own company in Glashütte, and thus laid the foundation for the entire Glashütte watch industry. He had access neither to trained personnel nor to an intact infrastructure, but he created jobs in the then-distressed region and helped it flourish again.

In 1868, Lange went into partnership with his eldest son, Richard. They renamed the firm A. Lange & Söhne. The firm survived the First World War by manufacturing navy chronometers. In the Second World War, it was less fortunate: the Manufacture was destroyed and expropriated by the Communist regime. Nine years later, the manufacture became a part of the Richemont Group.

Among the many improvements Ferdinand Adolph Lange worked on tirelessly, the development of the distinctive three-quarter plate is particularly special - it remains one of the most important traditional elements at A. Lange & Söhne in 2018.

Lange was also a mayor of Glashutte in Saxony, between 1849 and 1867, during these years he transformed the town into the center of precision watchmaking in Germany. He was then elected to the Saxon state parliament.

Achievements

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  In order to make the highest quality possible to reproduce equally, Ferdinand Adolph Lange reorganized the manufacturing process - first and foremost by introducing the principle of division of labor. Ferdinand Adolph Lange also improved tools, for example, with the foot-operated swivel chairs.
  
  A monument in honor of Ferdinand Adolph Lange is installed in his Glashütte.

Connections

Lange's marriage with Antonia Gutkaes resulted in four sons, Richard, Emil, Adolf and Otto, and three daughters, Marie, Emma, and Antonie.

Spouse:

Antonia Gutkaes

Son:

Richard Lange

Son:

Emil Lange

Son:

Adolf Lange

Son:

Otto Lange

Daughter:

Marie Lange

Daughter:

Emma Lange

Daughter:

Antonie Lange

father-in-law:

Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes

References

• Ferdinand Adolph Lange