Henry
Lomb was born in Burgham, Germany, on
24th November, 1828. When he was twenty years old he emigrated to
the United States.
Lomb worked as a cabinet maker before he joined John
Jacob Bausch, the owner of a retail optical shop in Rochester.
Lomb invested his savings in the business and became Bauche's partner.
In 1860 the Bausch & Lomb company built the first machine in America
to produce spectacles. Lomb was in charge of sales and Bausch concentrated
on manufacturing.
On the outbreak of the Civil War Lomb
resigned as sales manager of Bausch & Lomb in order to enlist
in the New York State Volunteers. He was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant
and then captain before leaving at the end of the war.
In 1876 the company began manufacturing microscopes. Later that year
the Bausch & Lomb Optical Company won a distinction at the Philadelphia
Centennial Exposition. The company also produced photographic lenses
(1883), spectacle lenses (1889), microtomes (1890), binoculars and
telescopes (1893). Henry Lomb died in Pittsford, New
York, on 13th June, 1908.
Available
from Amazon Books (order below)
