1686-1736

German-Dutch Instrument Maker

Daniel Fahrenheit is famous for the temperature scale that bears his name and for developing the first mercury thermometer. He also established quantitatively that boiling-point temperatures vary with pressure, and he discovered supercooling of water.

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was born in Danzig (now Gdansk) on May 24, 1686 to a wealthy merchant family. Demonstrating a gift for learning, he was to have attended the Danziger Gymnasium. However, his parents died before he matriculated. Much against his will, his guardians sent him to Amsterdam to complete a business apprenticeship. He failed to complete it, and a warrant for his arrest was issued with the intent of sending him to the East Indies (1707).

Thus pursued, Fahrenheit traveled throughout Europe, visiting scientists and instrument makers. He later settled in Amsterdam (1717) and established himself as a manufacturer of thermometers, barometers, and areometers. Throughout his life, Fahrenheit...