Ludwig Schupmann
Ludwig Ignaz Schupmann (23 January 1851 in Geseke (Westphalia), Kingdom of Prussia – 2 October 1920 also in Geseke) was a German professor of architecture and an optical designer. He is principally remembered today for his Medial and Brachymedial telescopes, types of catadioptric reflecting-refracting telescopes with Mangin mirrors that eliminate chromatic aberrations while using common optical glasses. Used in early lunar studies, they are used now in double-star work. • Illustration — Schupmann's drawing of the candelabra, now named after him.
Also recorded as Ludwig Ignaz Schupmann
Ludwig Schupmann

Magnus Gertkemper · Self-photographed · CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- Born
- 1851 · Geseke.
- Died
- 1920 · Geseke.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- architect · astronomer · university teacher · design engineer
- Languages
- German
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Ludwig Ignaz Schupmann (23 January 1851 in Geseke (Westphalia), Kingdom of Prussia – 2 October 1920 also in Geseke) was a German professor of architecture and an optical designer. He is principally remembered today for his Medial and Brachymedial telescopes, types of catadioptric reflecting-refracting telescopes with Mangin mirrors that eliminate chromatic aberrations while using common optical glasses. Used in early lunar studies, they are used now in double-star work. • Illustration — Schupmann's drawing of the candelabra, now named after him.
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Note VALÉORINE
Ludwig Schupmann (1851–1920) was a German architect, astronomer and design engineer, among other activities. The architect was born and died in Geseke. Ludwig Schupmann worked for RWTH Aachen University and worked in Aachen. Languages used include German.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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Schupmann candelabra (a special street light)
Schupmann candelabra (a special street light)
In 1882, electric street lighting was put into operation in the center of the city of Berlin (Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Straße) for which the company Siemens & Halske supplied a total of 36 carbon arc lamps. Schupmann also invented an achromatic lens design using only a single type of glass. The Schupmann dialyte design is highly corrected but limited to long f#'s. In November 1887, the city of Berlin announced a competition for the design of richly decorated arc lamp candelabras for the boulevard Unter den Linden, which was won by Ludwig Schupmann. A total of 104 lamps with a light point height of 8 metres were built according to this design and installed in Berlin in 1888 (on Unter den Linden, Pariser Platz, Opernplatz and Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße). Only later, they were named after their creator as Schupmann candelabras. Before the 1936 Olympic Games, the Schupmann candelabras on the Unter den Linden-boulevard were replaced by so-called Biedermeier Lamps. • Illustration — Rathenow's Giant Telescope in the modern "Park of Optics" where it is located since 2009.
Medial Telescopes
Medial Telescopes
Schupmann drafted four types of hybrid telescope made out of lenses and mirrors. He called this "mixed" technology "medial telescope" (from Latin "medium", middle). In the first booklet published in 1899, he presented two types of "medial telescopes" and two variants with shorted tube lengths. The latter were called "brachymedial telescopes" by him. He created the word from the Greek βραχύς (brachys) for "short", so a "brachymedial" for him is a "shortened medial" or "shortened hybrid" telescope. • Illustration — Medial Telescopes (types A and B) according to Schupmann 1899 • Illustration — Brachymedial Telescopes (types A and B) according to Schupmann 1899 • Illustration — Giant "brachymedial" (shortened hybrid) telescope built in the city of Rathenow near Berlin by Edwin Rolf 1949-1953 (around 1953). • Illustration — Giant "Shortened Schupmann Medial" telescope in Rathenow, Germany (after 2008).
Works
Works
Die Medial-Fernrohre - Eine neue Konstruktion für große astronomische Instrumente, Teubner-Verlag, 1899

Werbeanzeige der Urania Uhren- und Säulen Commanditgesellschaft in: Ethische Kultur, Halbmonatsschrift für ethisch-soziale Reformen, 1893, Band 1, Seite 282
Ludwig Schupmann · Werbeanzeige der Urania Uhren- und Säulen Commanditgesellschaft in: Ethische Kultur, Halbmonatsschrift für ethisch-soziale Reformen, 1893, Band 1, Seite 282
Life and career
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Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1851
Ludwig Schupmann was born in 1851 at Geseke.
1920
Ludwig Schupmann died in 1920 at Geseke.
Honor
The asteroid 5779 Schupmann is named in his honour.
Literature
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- 1.Hoffmann, Susanne M. Das Riesen-Schupmannteleskop von Rathenow: Höhepunkt oder Sackgasse der Technikgeschichte. Tredition. 2015. 978-3-7323-4386-7.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Design
11,558 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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- Ludwik GintelDesigner
- Ludwik OliDesigner
- Ludwik PeretzDesigner
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