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Birth
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was born to Johann Mach and Josephine Lanhaus in Chirlitz-Turas, Moravia (now Brno, Czech Republic) on Feb 18, 1838. Ernest Mach, https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ernst-mach-4770.php -
Family moved
In 1840 his family moved to a farm in Untersiebenbrunn, Lower Austria, where he receiving his education till the time he was fourteen from his Father and Mother. -
Awakening
He credited his philosophical awakening to reading, at age fifteen, his father’s copy of Kant’s 'Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics' -
Schooling
He began his studies in mathematics and physics at the University of Vienna in 1855, and matriculating in 1860. -
Doctorate
In 1860, he presented his thesis on electrical charge and induction, which earned him a doctorate in physics. -
After Graduation
Completed his studies at the University of Vienna in 1861. After graduation, he stayed in Vienna as a privat dozent, continuing on as a lecturer until 1864. Although his degree was in physics, Mach enrolled as a student of a Medical Faculty, taking 22 hours of classes in physiology, chemistry, and anatomy. He also taught a course in physics for medical students. He studied psychophysics, publishing about the relationship between tension in the eye muscles and perception of form. -
Professor Mach
Professor of Mathematics at Graz. Mach had the money and freedom to carry out his own experiments. -
Mach Bands
In 1865 Mach published, “On the effect of the spatial distribution of the light stimulus on the retina,” first of a series of articles on what have been now called, Mach Bands.
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Switching to Physics
In 1866 he exchanged his math chair at Graz for one in physics. -
Teaching in Prague
Took a professorship in experimental physics in Prague at ‘Karls-Universität’. He stayed in Prague for twenty-eight years. In Prague, he conducted research on retinal stimuli, auditory perception, wave motion and also studied the propagation of sound waves with the use of photographic devices, which gave the terms ‘Mach Number’ and ‘Mach Angle’. -
Family life
In Graz in 1867, Ernst Mach married Ludovica Marussig. They later on had five children - four boys and one girl. -
Returned to Vienna
In 1895, after living in Prague for 28 years, Mach returns to Vienna where he chaired the newly established department of the theory of inductive science. -
Suffers a Stroke
During his tenure as Dean of Philosophy in Vienna, he suffered a stroke in 1898, which paralysed the right half of his body. -
Retirement
Three years after his stroke, he announced his retirement and separates himself from being involved in further research. -
During Retirement
he did not let his health hamper his lectures, and in 1905, published ‘Erkenntnis und Irrtum’ (‘Knowledge and Error’), and five years later, his autobiography. -
Death
On February 19th of 1916, due to heart disease, Mach died and was buried at the cemetery of Haar. Pojman, Paul, "Ernst Mach", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2019/entries/ernst-mach/.
