Jakob Amsler-Laffon was a mathematician

Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....

, physicist

Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...

, engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

 and the founder of his own factory

Factory

A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...

 . Amsler was born on the Stalden

Unterbözberg

Unterbözberg is a municipality in the district of Brugg in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Unterbözberg is first mentioned in 1189 as Bozeberch. Until 1873, the municipality was part of Bözberg, which split into Oberbözberg and Unterbözberg.-Geography:Unterbözberg has an area, , of...

 near the village of Schinznach

Schinznach

Schinznach may refer to:*Schinznach-Bad, Aargau, Switzerland*Schinznach-Dorf, Aargau, Switzerland...

 in the district of Brugg

Brugg, Switzerland

Brugg is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Aargau and is the seat of the district of the same name. The city is located at the confluence of the Reuss, Aare, and Limmat Rivers, with the Aare flowing through the city’s old town...

, canton Aargau

Aargau

Aargau is one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. It comprises the lower course of the river Aare, which is why the canton is called Aar-gau .-History:...

, and died in Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen

Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. His father was Jakob Amsler-Amsler (1779–1869).

On graduating from school in 1843, he went to the University of Jena and then to the University of Königsberg

University of Königsberg

The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....

 to study theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

. At Königsberg

Königsberg

Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...

 he changed courses, deciding to focus on mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

 and physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 after meeting the inspiring Franz Neumann

Franz Ernst Neumann

Franz Ernst Neumann was a German mineralogist, physicist and mathematician.-Biography:Neumann was born in Joachimsthal, Margraviate of Brandenburg, located not far from Berlin. In 1815 he interrupted his studies at Berlin to serve as a volunteer in the Hundred Days against Napoleon, and was...

. Among Amsler's fellow students at Königsberg were Gustav Robert Kirchhoff and Siegfried Heinrich Aronhold

Siegfried Heinrich Aronhold

Siegfried Heinrich Aronhold was a German mathematician who worked on invariant theory and introduced the symbolic method.-References:...

. Amsler gained his doctorate from Königsberg in 1848 and returned to Switzerland in the same year. In 1851 he became a Privatdozent

Privatdozent

Privatdozent or Private lecturer is a title conferred in some European university systems, especially in German-speaking countries, for someone who pursues an academic career and holds all formal qualifications to become a tenured university professor...

 at the University of Zürich

University of Zurich

The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....

 and later in that year accepted a position as a mathematics teacher at the Gymnasium in Schaffhausen. In 1854 Amsler married Elise Laffon (1830–1899). The couple had two daughters and three sons. Their oldest son Alfred Amsler (1857–1940) was a mathematician and engineer in his own right and succeeded to his father as the owner and director of the factory. From about 1885 until about 1905, father and son closely cooperated on many projects in their business; many of their ideas, inventions and constructions of the time are difficult to attribute to either one of them.

Jakob Amsler-Laffon invented the polar planimeter

Planimeter

A planimeter is a measuring instrument used to determine the area of an arbitrary two-dimensional shape.-Construction:There are several kinds of planimeters, but all operate in a similar way. The precise way in which they are constructed varies, with the main types of mechanical planimeter being...

in 1854.

Publications

• Jakob Amsler: Über die mechanische Bestimmung des Flächeninhaltes, der statischen Momente und der Trägheitsmomente ebener Figuren. Schaffhausen, 1856.
• Jakob Amsler: Anwendung des Integrators (Momentenplanimeters) zur Berechnung des Auf- und Abtrages bei Anlage von Eisenbahnen, Strassen und Kanälen. Zürich, 1875.
• Jakob Amsler: Moulinet hydrométrique avec compteur et signal électrique. Schaffhouse, w.o.year.
• J. Amsler-Laffon & Sohn: Catalog der Materialprüfmaschinen. Schaffhausen, 1903.