born April 9, 1794, Munich, Bavaria
died Nov. 25, 1881, Munich, German Empire
German flutist and flute designer.
Son of a goldsmith, he was a self-taught virtuoso flutist. Realizing that the craft he learned from his father could be put to use to improve the instrument, he created a new kind of key mechanism in 1832. He later studied acoustics, and by 1847 he had completely redesigned the flute, giving it a different internal shape, moving the holes, and extending the use of the keys. His work achieved a stronger and more uniform tone than that of earlier instruments and formed the basis for the modern flute.