Friedrich Carl Pockels (18.06.1865-.29.08.1913) - a German physicist. He was born in Vicenza (Italy). In 1888 he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Göttingen, where he worked. From 1896 he was professor at the Dresden Polytechnic, and from 1900 at the University of Heidelberg.
His work was in the fields of electromagnetism, optics, crystal physics and meteorology. In 1894 he detected the linear electro-optic effect in crystals — the change in the refractive index of light in crystals placed in an electric field, proportional to the field strength (the Pockels effect).