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Joseph von Fraunhofer (March 6, 1787 – June 7, 1826) was a German physicist.
When Fraunhofer became an orphan at the age of 11, he started working at a company for optical instruments.
In 1801 the workshop in which he was working collapsed and he was buried in the rubble. The rescue operation was led by Maximilian IV Joseph, Prince Elector of Bavaria (the future Maximilian I Joseph). The prince entered Fraunhofer's life, providing him with books and forcing his employer to allow the young Fraunhofer time to study.
He invented the spectroscope in 1814 and was the first to investigate seriously the absorption lines in the solar spectrum that were ultimately explained by Kirchhoff and Bunsen in 1859. These lines are still sometimes called Fraunhofer lines in his honour.
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