born July 2, 1796, Boppard, Trier
died March 3, 1871, Vienna, Austria
German Austrian pioneer in the industrialization of furniture manufacture.
He developed a system of steam-bent veneers 0441; 1830 and created light, curvilinear chairs. By 1856 he had perfected the bending of solid beechwood with heat and began mass production of bentwood furniture . He set up factories in Hungary and Moravia and opened salons from Moscow to Chicago. By 1870 he was producing furniture in hitherto unheard-of quantities. His furniture is still being manufactured today.