Franz Ritter von Kobell (1803–82)

German mineralogist and poet. Professor of mineralogy, Munich, 1834. Published on minerals and theoretical crystallography. Inventor of the stauroscope, an instrument used to determine the planes of light vibration in sections of crystals. Secretary, mathematical-physical section of the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Bavarian Academy of Science), 1869–82. Wrote poetry in the Bavarian dialect.