Childhood and Upbringing: Joseph Von Fraunhofer was born on March 6, 1787 in Straubing, Bavaria. He was the youngest of ten siblings and was born to a very poor family. His father was a glass grinder for a living. When Joseph was only 12 years old, both of his parents died. He was then apprenticed to a mirror maker and a lens grinder for 6 years. Those six years passed and he got no pay. In 1801 the house he was working in collapsed and he survived with minor injuries. He was then brought in by von Utzschneider who introduced him to a world of knowledge. He became interested in books of mathematics and science.