Simon von Stampfer

Simon Ritter von Stampfer (October 26, 1792 (according to other sources 1790), in Windisch-Mattrai, Archbishopric of Salzburg today called Matrei in Osttirol, Tyrol – November 10, 1864 in Vienna) was an Austrian mathematician, surveyor and inventor. His most famous invention is that of the stroboscopic disk which has a claim to be the first device to show moving images. Almost simultaneously similar devices were produced independently in Belgium (the phenakistiskop), and Britain (the zoetrope).

Simon Ritter von Stampfer was born in Matrei in Osttirol, and was the first son of Bartlmä Stampfer, a weaver. From 1801 he attended the local school and in 1804 and moved to the Franciscan Gymnasium in Lienz, where he studied until 1807. From there he went to the Lyceum in Salzburg, to study philosophy, however he was not assessed.

In 1814 in Munich, he passed the state examination and applied there as a teacher. He chose, however, to stay in Salzburg, where he was assistant teacher in mathematics, natural history, physics and Greek at the high school. He then moved to the Lyceum, where he taught elementary mathematics, physics and applied mathematics . In 1819 he was also appointed a professor. In his spare time he made geodetic measurements, astronomical observations, experiments on the propagation speed of sound at different heights and measurements using the barometer. Stampfer was often to be seen in the Benedictine Monastery of Kremsmünster which had numerous pieces of astronomical equipment available.

In 1822, von Stampfer married Johanna Wagner. They had a daughter in 1824 (Maria Aloysia Johanna) and in 1825 a son (Anton Josef Simon).

After several unsuccessful applications, in Innsbruck, Stampfer was finally promoted to full professor of pure mathematics in Salzburg. However, at the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna, he was also promoted to the Chair of Practical Geometry. He settled there in December 1825 to replace Franz Josef von Gerstner. He now taught Practical geometry, but was also employed as a physicist and astronomer. He produced a method for the computation of solar eclipses.

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