Vellum (named from the old French Velin whih derives from the Latin vitulinus meaning of a calf) is a type of superior parchment made from the skin of a calf, kid or lamb, and given a smooth finish. The once celebrated Strasbourg vellum was prepared with remarkably fine pumice stones. Vellum, known since earliest times as a material for manuscripts and books, is now rarely used, though it was used for bookbinding during the late 19th century. Research Vellum
Johannes Dumichen was a German Egyptologist. He was born in 1833 near Glogau and died in 1894. He studied Egyptology under Lepsius and was deputed by the Prussian government to explore the NileValley in 1862 and 1868. He also accompanied the Prussian Crown Prince to Egypt on the occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal. In 1872 he was appointed professor of Egyptology at Strasbourg. Research Johannes Dumichen
Johann Tauler was a German mystic. He was born in 1300 at Strasbourg and died in 1361. He became a Dominican friar when he was eighteen and achieved fame as a preacher. Research Johann Tauler
Joseph Von Fraunhofer was a German physicist. He was born in 1787 at Strasbourg and died in 1826. He ultimately became a partner in a manufactory of optical instruments at Munich. His many improvements in glass-making, in optical instruments, and in the polishing of lenses, have been eclipsed by his investigation of the innumerable dark fixed lines in the solar spectrum, known as Fraunhofer's Lines. The importance of this discovery can scarcely be overestimated. It led to the invention and use of the spectroscope, to the science of spectroscopy, and to all our presentknowledge of solar and stellar chemistry. Research Joseph Von Fraunhofer
Karl Ferdinand Braun was a German physicist who made improvements to Guglielmo Marconi's system of wireless telegraphy. He was born in 1850 at Fulda, and died in 1918. He and Marconi shared the 1909 Nobel Prize for Physics. Braun also discovered crystal rectifiers (used in early radios), and invented the oscilloscope in 1895. He was educated at Marburg and Berlin. He held academic posts at a number of German universities, ending his career as professor and from 1895 director of the Institute of Physics at Strasbourg. In an attempt to increase the radio transmitter range to more than 15 km, Braun devised a system in which the power from the transmitter was magnetically coupled (using electromagnetic induction) to the antennacircuit. He patented this invention in 1899, and the principle of magnetic coupling has since been applied to all similar transmission systems. Later Braun developed directional antennas. In 1874 Braun discovered that some mineral metal sulphides conduct electricity in one direction only. These were later used in the crystal radio receivers that preceded valve circuits. Braun's oscilloscope was an adaptation of the cathode-ray tube. A laboratory instrument to study high-frequency alternating currents, it was the forerunner of television and radar display tubes. Research Karl Braun
Marie Tussaud was a Swiss-born French sculptress. She was born in 1760 at Strasbourg and died in 1850. Arriving in Paris in 1766, she grew up fascinated by her uncle's sculpting and modelling in wax, and soon learned the art herself. During the French revolution she was imprisoned, and only spared from death so she could make death masks of the executed aristocrats - many of whom were her friends - from their severed heads. Leaving France she arrived in Dover in 1802 and founded the famous Tussaud's wax works in London, showing her first exhibition of her models there in 1803. Research Marie Tussaud
Paul Gustav Dore was a French artist. He was born in 1833 at Strasbourg and died in 1883. He studied at Paris, contributing, when only sixteen years of age, comic sketches to the Journal pour Rire. He distinguished himself greatly as an illustrator of books. His illustrations of Rabelais, of Perrault's Tales, Sue's Wandering Jew, Dante's Divina Commedia, and Cervantes' Don Quixote, displayed great fertility of invention, and the fine fantasy of his landscapes and the dramatic effectiveness of his groups acquired for him a European reputation. His illustrations of the Bible, of Ariosto's OrlandoFurioso, and Milton's Paradise Lost are also of high excellence. As a painter he has grandeur of conception and a bold expressive style. Amongst his chief works are Christ leaving the Prsetorium, Paolo and Francesca diRimini, The Plight into Egypt, Mont Blanc, etc. In later years Dore also won fame as a sculptor. Research Paul Dore
Paul Janet was a French philosopher. He was born in 1823 at Paris and died in 1899. He became professor of philosophy at Strasbourg University in 1848 and in 1864 at the Sorbonne in Paris. He was the chief exponent of the idealistic school in France during the second half of the 19th century, and wrote a number of books. Research Paul Janet
Philipp Jakob Spener was the founder of the German Pietists. He was born in 1635 at Alsace and died in 1705. Educated at Strasbourg, Basel, Tubingen and Geneva he was appointed a public preacher at Strasbourg in 1663, and in 1666 at Frankfort where he founded the Pietist sect, which aimed at fostering spiritual religion in place of the dry dogmatism of Lutheran preaching. In 1686 he became court preacher at Dresden, but retired to Berlin in 1691 when his devotional meetings were formally condemned. Research Philipp Spener
Abbreviations
Research Vellum
