Lorenz Hengler was a Catholic priest who is often credited as the inventor of the horizontal pendulum

Pendulum

A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position...

.

At the age of fourteen he entered the Latin School of Leutkirch

Leutkirch im Allgäu

Leutkirch im Allgäu is a city in south-eastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the district of Ravensburg, in the western, Württembergish part of the Allgäu region. It belongs to the administrative region of Tübingen....

 and attended successively those of Ehingen

Ehingen

Ehingen is a town in the Alb-Donau district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, situated on the left bank of the Danube, approx. 25 km southwest of Ulm and 67 km southeast of Stuttgart.-Statistics:...

 and Tübingen

Tübingen

Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...

. In 1828 he studied mathematics and astronomy at Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

. It was at this place, and while a pupil of Franz von Gruithuisen

Franz von Gruithuisen

Baron Franz von Paula Gruithuisen was a Bavarian physician and astronomer. He taught medical students before becoming a professor of astronomy at the University of Munich in 1826....

, that he invented the horizontal pendulum, which has been used in many seismographs. In 1832 he published this invention in Gruithuisen's Analecta, together with some experiments he had made. In 1835 he was ordained in Rottenburg

Rottenburg

The name Rottenburg can refer to:* The family of Rottenburg* The German town Rottenburg am Neckar, in the state of Baden-Württemberg* The German town Rottenburg an der Laaber, in the state of Bavaria- See also :* Rottenberg* Rotenberg, Rothenberg...

 and was pastor of Tigerfeld at the time of his death. He left an elaborate telescope unfinished. Others have attributed the invention of the horizontal pendulum to Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner

Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner

Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner was a German astrophysicist who studied optical illusions. He invented the Zöllner illusion where lines that are parallel appear diagonal. The lunar Zöllner crater is named in his honor...

 (1869), and some to Perrot (1862). A full description of the pendulum and its history may be found in Zollner's Abhandlungen, vol. IV, and also in Johann Poggendorff's Annals.

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