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{{Short description|Baltic German astronomer and geodesist (1793–1864)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
|name = Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
|name = Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
|image =FGW Struve.jpg
|image =PGRS 2 081 Struve - crop.jpg
|image_size =240px
|image_size =240px
|caption = Von Struve
|caption = Von Struve
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|death_place = [[St Petersburg]], [[Russian Empire]]
|death_place = [[St Petersburg]], [[Russian Empire]]
|citizenship = Danish, [[Russia]]n<ref name='Batten'/>
|citizenship = Danish, [[Russia]]n<ref name='Batten'/>
|nationality = [[Baltic provinces|Baltic German]]<ref name=tammiksaar>{{cite web|url=http://www.estinst.ee/publications/estonianculture/I_MMVII/tammiksaar.html|title=Baltic German natural scientists in the science system of the Russian empire|publisher=[[Estonian Institute]]|author=Erki Tammiksaar|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331052925/http://www.estinst.ee/publications/estonianculture/I_MMVII/tammiksaar.html|archivedate=31 March 2012}}</ref>
|nationality = [[Baltic provinces|Baltic German]]<ref name=tammiksaar>{{cite web|url=http://www.estinst.ee/publications/estonianculture/I_MMVII/tammiksaar.html|title=Baltic German natural scientists in the science system of the Russian empire|publisher=[[Estonian Institute]]|author=Erki Tammiksaar|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331052925/http://www.estinst.ee/publications/estonianculture/I_MMVII/tammiksaar.html|archive-date=31 March 2012}}</ref>
|field = [[astronomy]], [[geodesy]]
|field = [[astronomy]], [[geodesy]]
|work_institutions =
|work_institutions =
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|signature =
|signature =
}}
}}
'''Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve''' ({{lang-ru|link=no|Василий Яковлевич Струве}}, trans. ''Vasily Yakovlevich Struve''; 15 April 1793 – {{OldStyleDate|23 November|1864|11 November}}) was a [[Germans in Russia|German-Russian]] [[astronomer]] and [[geodesist]] from the famous [[Struve family]]. He is best known for studying [[double star]]s and for initiating a triangulation survey later named [[Struve Geodetic Arc]] in his honor.
'''Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve''' ({{lang-ru|link=no|Василий Яковлевич Струве}}, trans. ''Vasily Yakovlevich Struve''; 15 April 1793 – {{OldStyleDate|23 November|1864|11 November}}) was a [[Baltic German]] [[astronomer]] and [[geodesist]]. He is best known for studying [[double star]]s and for initiating a triangulation survey later named [[Struve Geodetic Arc]] in his honor.


==Life==
==Life==


He was born at [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]], [[Duchy of Holstein]] (then a part of the [[Denmark–Norway]] kingdoms), the son of [[Jacob Struve]] (1755–1841). Struve's father moved the family away from the [[First French Empire|French occupation]] to [[Tartu|Dorpat]] in Imperial Russia to avoid military service,<ref name=r1>V. K. Abalkin ''et al.'' [http://www.gao.spb.ru/personal/chubey/Struve_dyn.pdf Struve dynasty] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514214336/http://www.gao.spb.ru/personal/chubey/Struve_dyn.pdf |date=14 May 2011 }} (in Russian), St. Petersburg University</ref><ref name=r2>[http://www.ajaloomuuseum.ut.ee/vvebook/pages/4_3.html Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503102420/http://www.ajaloomuuseum.ut.ee/vvebook/pages/4_3.html |date=3 May 2010 }}</ref><ref name=s1>{{cite journal|author=A. H. Batten|title=The Struves of Pulkovo – A Family of Astronomers|journal=Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada|volume=71|page=345|bibcode=1977JRASC..71..345B}}</ref> equipped with Danish passports.<ref name='Batten'>{{cite book |title=Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve|author=A. H. Batten |authorlink= |date=1988 |publisher=Springer |location=Dordrecht, Holland |isbn= 978-90-277-2652-0 |page=9 |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXSjxkg0rRgC&pg=PA9 |accessdate=}}</ref>
He was born to the aristocratic [[Struve family]] at [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]], [[Duchy of Holstein]] (then a part of the [[Denmark–Norway]] kingdoms), the son of [[Jacob Struve]] (1755–1841). To avoid military service during the [[First French Empire|French occupation]] of Holstein, his family moved to the Russian Empire,<ref name=r1>V. K. Abalkin ''et al.'' [http://www.gao.spb.ru/personal/chubey/Struve_dyn.pdf Struve dynasty] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514214336/http://www.gao.spb.ru/personal/chubey/Struve_dyn.pdf |date=14 May 2011 }} (in Russian), St. Petersburg University</ref><ref name=r2>[http://www.ajaloomuuseum.ut.ee/vvebook/pages/4_3.html Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503102420/http://www.ajaloomuuseum.ut.ee/vvebook/pages/4_3.html |date=3 May 2010 }}</ref><ref name=s1>{{cite journal|author=A. H. Batten|title=The Struves of Pulkovo – A Family of Astronomers|journal=Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada|volume=71|page=345|bibcode=1977JRASC..71..345B|year=1977}}</ref> equipped with Danish passports.<ref name='Batten'>{{cite book |title=Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve|author=A. H. Batten |date=1988 |publisher=Springer |location=Dordrecht, Holland |isbn= 978-90-277-2652-0 |page=9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXSjxkg0rRgC&pg=PA9 }}</ref>


In 1808 he entered the [[Imperial University of Dorpat]], where he first studied [[philology]], but soon turned his attention to [[astronomy]]. From 1813 to 1820, he taught at the university and collected data at the [[Dorpat Observatory]], and in 1820 became a full professor and director of the observatory. His teachings have had a strong effect that is still felt at the university.<ref name=r1/><ref name=r2/><ref name=s1/>
In 1808 he entered the [[University of Tartu]] ([[Dorpat]]), where he first studied [[philology]], but soon turned his attention to [[astronomy]]. From 1813 to 1820, he taught at the university and collected data at the [[Tartu Observatory]], and in 1820 became a full professor and director of the observatory. His teachings have had a strong effect that is still felt at the university.<ref name=r1/><ref name=r2/><ref name=s1/>


Struve was occupied with research on [[double star]]s and [[geodesy]] in Dorpat until 1839, when he founded and became director of the new [[Pulkovo Observatory]] near [[St Petersburg]]. Among other honors, he won the [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] in 1826. He was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in March 1827 and was awarded their [[Royal Medal]] the same year.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www2.royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28Surname%3D%27struve%27%29|title= Library and Archive Catalogue|publisher= Royal Society|accessdate= 22 October 2010}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Struve was elected a member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] in 1833, and a Foreign Honorary Member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1834.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter S|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterS.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|accessdate=15 September 2016}}</ref> In 1843 he formally adopted Russian nationality.<ref>{{cite book |title=Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve |author=A. H. Batten |date=1988 |publisher=Springer |location=Dordrecht, Holland |isbn= 978-90-277-2652-0 |page=135 |pages= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXSjxkg0rRgC&pg=PA135 |accessdate=}}</ref> He retired in 1862 due to failing health.<ref name=r1/><ref name=r2/><ref name=s1/>
Struve was occupied with research on [[double star]]s and [[geodesy]] in Dorpat until 1839, when he founded and became director of the new [[Pulkovo Observatory]] near [[St Petersburg]]. Among other honors, he won the [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] in 1826. He was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in March 1827 and was awarded their [[Royal Medal]] the same year.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www2.royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Persons&dsqPos=0&dsqSearch=%28Surname%3D%27struve%27%29|title= Library and Archive Catalogue|publisher= Royal Society|access-date= 22 October 2010}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Struve was elected a member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] in 1833, and a Foreign Honorary Member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1834.<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter S|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterS.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=15 September 2016}}</ref> In 1843 he formally adopted Russian nationality.<ref>{{cite book |title=Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve |author=A. H. Batten |date=1988 |publisher=Springer |location=Dordrecht, Holland |isbn= 978-90-277-2652-0 |page=135 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXSjxkg0rRgC&pg=PA135 }}</ref> He retired in 1862 due to failing health.<ref name=r1/><ref name=r2/><ref name=s1/>


The [[asteroid]] [[768 Struveana]] was named jointly in his honour and that of [[Otto Wilhelm von Struve|Otto Wilhelm]] and [[Karl Hermann Struve]] and a [[Struve (crater)|lunar crater]] was named for another 3 astronomers of the [[Struve family]]: Friedrich Georg Wilhelm, Otto Wilhelm and [[Otto Struve|Otto]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KWrB1jPCa8AC&pg=PA73|page=73|title=Dictionary of minor planet names|author=Lutz D. Schmadel|publisher=Springer|date=2003|isbn=3-540-00238-3}}</ref>
The [[asteroid]] [[768 Struveana]] was named jointly in his honour and that of [[Otto Wilhelm von Struve|Otto Wilhelm]] and [[Karl Hermann Struve]] and a [[Struve (crater)|lunar crater]] was named for another 3 astronomers of the [[Struve family]]: Friedrich Georg Wilhelm, Otto Wilhelm and [[Otto Struve|Otto]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KWrB1jPCa8AC&pg=PA73|page=73|title=Dictionary of minor planet names|author=Lutz D. Schmadel|publisher=Springer|date=2003|isbn=3-540-00238-3}}</ref>
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==Works==
==Works==
[[File:GW Struve 2.jpg|thumb|left|Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve]]
[[File:GW Struve 2.jpg|thumb|left|Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve]]
Struve's name is best known for his observations of [[double star]]s, which he carried on for many years. Although double stars had been studied earlier by [[William Herschel]] and [[John Herschel]] and [[James South|Sir James South]], Struve outdid any previous efforts. He discovered a very large number of double stars and in 1827 published his double star catalogue ''Catalogus novus stellarum duplicium''.<ref name=s1/>
Struve's name is best known for his observations of [[double star]]s, which he carried on for many years. Although double stars had been studied earlier by [[William Herschel]] and [[John Herschel]] and [[James South|Sir James South]], Struve outdid any previous efforts. While at Dorpat he obtained in 1824 a refracting telescope with an aperture of 23 cm (about 9 inches) made by [[Joseph von Fraunhofer]], said to be a masterpiece of optical and mechanical quality.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1965JRASC..59..106V|title= The Struve Succession|publisher= Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada|access-date= 6 December 2023}}</ref> With this telescope Struve discovered a very large number of double stars and in 1827 published his double star catalogue ''Catalogus novus stellarum duplicium''.<ref name=s1/> Stars of his catalogue are sometimes indicated by the Greek letter sigma, Σ. Thus, 61 Cygni is also designated as Σ2758.


Since most [[double star]]s are true [[binary star]]s rather than mere [[optical double]]s (as William Herschel had been the first to discover), they orbit around one another's [[Barycentric coordinates (astronomy)|barycenter]] and slowly change position over the years. Thus Struve made micrometric measurements of 2714 double stars from 1824 to 1837 and published these in his work ''Stellarum duplicium et multiplicium mensurae micrometricae''.<ref name=s1/>
Since most [[double star]]s are true [[binary star]]s rather than mere [[optical double]]s (as William Herschel had been the first to discover), they orbit around their common [[Barycentric coordinates (astronomy)|barycenter]] and slowly change position over the years. Thus Struve made micrometric measurements of 2714 double stars from 1824 to 1837 and published these in his work ''Stellarum duplicium et multiplicium mensurae micrometricae''.<ref name=s1/>


Struve carefully measured the "constant of [[aberration of light|aberration]]" in 1843. He was also the first to measure the [[parallax]] of a star [[Vega]], although [[Friedrich Bessel]] had been the first to measure the parallax of a star ([[61 Cygni]]).<ref name=s1/>
Struve carefully measured the "constant of [[aberration of light|aberration]]" in 1843. He was also the first to measure the [[parallax]] of the star [[Vega]], although [[Friedrich Bessel]] had been the first to measure the parallax of a star ([[61 Cygni]]).<ref name=s1/>


In an 1847 work, ''Etudes d'Astronomie Stellaire: Sur la voie lactee et sur la distance des etoiles fixes,'' Struve was one of the first astronomers to identify the effects of [[interstellar extinction]] (though he provided no mechanism to explain the effect). His estimate of the average rate of visual extinction, 1 mag per kpc, is remarkably close to modern estimates (0.7–1.0 mag per kpc).<ref name=s1/>
In an 1847 work, ''Etudes d'Astronomie Stellaire: Sur la voie lactee et sur la distance des etoiles fixes,'' Struve was one of the first astronomers to identify the effects of [[interstellar extinction]] (though he provided no mechanism to explain the effect). His estimate of the average rate of visual extinction, 1 mag per kpc, is remarkably close to modern estimates (0.7–1.0 mag per kpc).<ref name=s1/>


He was also interested in [[geodesy|geodetic]] surveying, and in 1831 published ''Beschreibung der Breitengradmessung in den Ostseeprovinzen Russlands''. He initiated the [[Struve Geodetic Arc]], which was a chain of survey triangulations stretching from [[Hammerfest]] in Norway to the [[Black Sea]], through ten countries and over 2,820&nbsp;km, to establish the [[Reference ellipsoid|exact size and shape]] of the [[earth]]. UNESCO listed the chain on its [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe]] in 2005.<ref>[http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/1187.pdf Struve Geodetic Arc], UNESCO</ref>
He was also interested in [[geodesy|geodetic]] surveying, and in 1831 published ''Beschreibung der Breitengradmessung in den Ostseeprovinzen Russlands''. He initiated the [[Struve Geodetic Arc]], which was a chain of survey triangulations stretching from [[Hammerfest]] in Norway to the [[Black Sea]], through ten countries and over 2,820&nbsp;km, to establish the [[Reference ellipsoid|exact size and shape]] of the [[earth]]. UNESCO listed the chain on its [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe]] in 2005.<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/1187.pdf Struve Geodetic Arc], UNESCO</ref>

In 1853, he was elected as a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1853;year-max=1853;smode=advanced;startDoc=21|access-date=2021-04-16|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>


==Family==
==Family==
Struve was the second of a dynasty of astronomers through five generations. He was the great-grandfather of [[Otto Struve]] and the father of [[Otto Wilhelm von Struve]]. He was also the grandfather of [[Hermann Struve]], who was Otto Struve's uncle.
Struve was the second of a dynasty of astronomers through five generations. He was the great-grandfather of [[Otto Struve]] and the father of [[Otto Wilhelm von Struve]]. He was also the grandfather of [[Hermann von Struve]], who was Otto Struve's uncle.


In 1815 he married [[Emilie Wall]] (1796–1834) in Altona, who bore 12 children, 8 of which survived early childhood. In addition to [[Otto Wilhelm von Struve]], other children were [[Heinrich Wilhelm von Struve]] (1822–1908), a prominent chemist, and [[Bernhard Wilhelm von Struve]] (1827–1889), who served as a government official in [[Siberia]] and later as governor of [[Astrakhan]] and [[Perm]].<ref name=r1/><ref name=s1/>
In 1815 he married Emilie Wall (1796–1834) in Altona, who bore 12 children, 8 of which survived early childhood. In addition to [[Otto Wilhelm von Struve]], other children were [[Heinrich Wilhelm von Struve]] (1822–1908), a prominent chemist, and {{interlanguage link|Bernhard Wilhelm von Struve|ru|Струве,_Бернгард_Васильевич}} (1827–1889), who served as a government official in [[Siberia]] and later as governor of [[Astrakhan]] and [[Perm Governorate|Perm]].<ref name=r1/><ref name=s1/>


After his first wife died, he remarried to [[Johanna Henriette Francisca Bartels]] (1807–1867), a daughter of the mathematician [[Martin Bartels]],<ref name=r1/> who bore him six more children. The most well-known was [[Karl de Struve]] (1835–1907), who served successively as Russian ambassador to Japan, the United States, and the [[Netherlands]].<ref name=r1/><ref name=s1/>
After his first wife died, he remarried to [[Johanna Henriette Francisca Bartels]] (1807–1867), a daughter of the mathematician [[Martin Bartels]],<ref name=r1/> who bore him six more children. The most well-known was [[Karl von Struve]] (1835–1907), who served successively as Russian ambassador to Japan, the United States, and the [[Netherlands]].<ref name=r1/><ref name=s1/>


Bernhard's son [[Peter Berngardovich Struve]] (1870–1944) is probably the best known member of the family in Russia. He was one of the first Russian [[marxist]]s and penned the [[Manifesto]] of the [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party]] upon its creation in 1898. Even before the party split into [[Bolsheviks]] and [[Mensheviks]], Struve left it for the [[Constitutional Democratic party]], which promoted ideas of liberalism. He represented this party at all the pre-revolutionary [[State Duma]]s. After the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]], he published several striking articles on its causes and joined the [[White movement]]. In the governments of [[Pyotr Wrangel]] and [[Denikin]] he was one of the ministers. During the following three decades, he lived in Paris, while his children were prominent in the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].<ref name=r1/>
Bernhard's son [[Pyotr Berngardovich Struve|Pyotr Struve]] (1870–1944) is probably the best known member of the family in Russia proper (his other descendants mainly resided in [[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]], and subsequently in [[Germany]]). He was one of the first Russian [[marxist]]s and penned the [[manifesto]] of the [[Russian Social Democratic Labour Party]] upon its creation in 1898. Even before the party split into [[Bolsheviks]] and [[Mensheviks]], Struve left it for the [[Constitutional Democratic party]], which promoted ideas of liberalism. He represented this party at all the pre-revolutionary [[State Duma]]s. After the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]], he published several striking articles on its causes and joined the [[White movement]]. In the governments of [[Pyotr Wrangel]] and [[Denikin]] he was one of the ministers. During the following three decades, Pyotr lived in Paris, while his children were prominent in the [[Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia]].<ref name=r1/>


==See also==
==See also==
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve}}
{{Commons category|Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=kXSjxkg0rRgC&pg=PA72&dq=otto+Struve+mother&cd=2#v=onepage&q=otto%20Struve%20mother&f=false|title=Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve|author=Henry Batten|publisher=Springer|date=1988|isbn=90-277-2652-3}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXSjxkg0rRgC&q=otto+Struve+mother&pg=PA72|title=Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve|author=Henry Batten|publisher=Springer|date=1988|isbn=90-277-2652-3}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve}}
⚫
* [http://digitalcollections.ucsc.edu/cdm/search/collection/p265101coll10/searchterm/Friedrich%20Georg%20Wilhelm%20Struve/order/title Portraits of Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520032752/http://digitalcollections.ucsc.edu/cdm/search/collection/p265101coll10/searchterm/Friedrich%20Georg%20Wilhelm%20Struve/order/title |date=20 May 2015 }}
*{{Worldcat id|lccn-n80-136395}}
⚫
* [http://digitalcollections.ucsc.edu/cdm/search/collection/p265101coll10/searchterm/Friedrich%20Georg%20Wilhelm%20Struve/order/title Portraits of Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections]
*[http://post.ee/?id=1595&product_id=8192&c_tpl=1019 Estonian souvenir sheet and first day cover dedicated to Struve and Struve Geodetic Arc (2011)]
*[http://post.ee/?id=1595&product_id=8192&c_tpl=1019 Estonian souvenir sheet and first day cover dedicated to Struve and Struve Geodetic Arc (2011)]
{{Struve}}
{{Struve}}
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[[Category:1864 deaths]]
[[Category:1864 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Altona, Hamburg]]
[[Category:People from Altona, Hamburg]]
[[Category:German astronomers]]
[[Category:19th-century German astronomers]]
[[Category:Imperial Russian astronomers]]
[[Category:Astronomers from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Imperial Russian scientists]]
[[Category:Scientists from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
⚫
[[Category:Full Members of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:University of Tartu alumni]]
[[Category:University of Tartu alumni]]
[[Category:University of Tartu faculty]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Tartu]]
[[Category:Royal Medal winners]]
[[Category:Royal Medal winners]]
[[Category:Russian-German people]]
[[Category:Russian people of German descent]]
[[Category:Baltic-German people]]
[[Category:Struve family|Friedrich Georg Wilhelm]]
[[Category:Struve family|Friedrich Georg Wilhelm]]
⚫
[[Category:Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Foreign Members of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Founding members of the Russian Geographical Society]]
[[Category:Founding members of the Russian Geographical Society]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)]]
[[Category:German geodesists]]
[[Category:German geodesists]]
[[Category:Imperial Russian geodesists]]
[[Category:Geodesists from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities]]
[[Category:Russian scientists]]

Revision as of 23:14, 22 January 2024

Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
Von Struve
Born(1793-04-15)15 April 1793
Altona (today part of Hamburg), Duchy of Holstein
Died23 November 1864(1864-11-23) (aged 71)
St Petersburg, Russian Empire
NationalityBaltic German[2]
CitizenshipDanish, Russian[1]
Alma materImperial University of Dorpat
AwardsGold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1826)
Royal Medal (1827)
Scientific career
Fieldsastronomy, geodesy

Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (Russian: Василий Яковлевич Струве, trans. Vasily Yakovlevich Struve; 15 April 1793 – 23 November [O.S. 11 November] 1864) was a Baltic German astronomer and geodesist. He is best known for studying double stars and for initiating a triangulation survey later named Struve Geodetic Arc in his honor.

Life

He was born to the aristocratic Struve family at Altona, Duchy of Holstein (then a part of the Denmark–Norway kingdoms), the son of Jacob Struve (1755–1841). To avoid military service during the French occupation of Holstein, his family moved to the Russian Empire,[3][4][5] equipped with Danish passports.[1]

In 1808 he entered the University of Tartu (Dorpat), where he first studied philology, but soon turned his attention to astronomy. From 1813 to 1820, he taught at the university and collected data at the Tartu Observatory, and in 1820 became a full professor and director of the observatory. His teachings have had a strong effect that is still felt at the university.[3][4][5]

Struve was occupied with research on double stars and geodesy in Dorpat until 1839, when he founded and became director of the new Pulkovo Observatory near St Petersburg. Among other honors, he won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1826. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in March 1827 and was awarded their Royal Medal the same year.[6] Struve was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1833, and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1834.[7] In 1843 he formally adopted Russian nationality.[8] He retired in 1862 due to failing health.[3][4][5]

The asteroid 768 Struveana was named jointly in his honour and that of Otto Wilhelm and Karl Hermann Struve and a lunar crater was named for another 3 astronomers of the Struve family: Friedrich Georg Wilhelm, Otto Wilhelm and Otto.[9]

Works

Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve

Struve's name is best known for his observations of double stars, which he carried on for many years. Although double stars had been studied earlier by William Herschel and John Herschel and Sir James South, Struve outdid any previous efforts. While at Dorpat he obtained in 1824 a refracting telescope with an aperture of 23 cm (about 9 inches) made by Joseph von Fraunhofer, said to be a masterpiece of optical and mechanical quality.[10] With this telescope Struve discovered a very large number of double stars and in 1827 published his double star catalogue Catalogus novus stellarum duplicium.[5] Stars of his catalogue are sometimes indicated by the Greek letter sigma, Σ. Thus, 61 Cygni is also designated as Σ2758.

Since most double stars are true binary stars rather than mere optical doubles (as William Herschel had been the first to discover), they orbit around their common barycenter and slowly change position over the years. Thus Struve made micrometric measurements of 2714 double stars from 1824 to 1837 and published these in his work Stellarum duplicium et multiplicium mensurae micrometricae.[5]

Struve carefully measured the "constant of aberration" in 1843. He was also the first to measure the parallax of the star Vega, although Friedrich Bessel had been the first to measure the parallax of a star (61 Cygni).[5]

In an 1847 work, Etudes d'Astronomie Stellaire: Sur la voie lactee et sur la distance des etoiles fixes, Struve was one of the first astronomers to identify the effects of interstellar extinction (though he provided no mechanism to explain the effect). His estimate of the average rate of visual extinction, 1 mag per kpc, is remarkably close to modern estimates (0.7–1.0 mag per kpc).[5]

He was also interested in geodetic surveying, and in 1831 published Beschreibung der Breitengradmessung in den Ostseeprovinzen Russlands. He initiated the Struve Geodetic Arc, which was a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km, to establish the exact size and shape of the earth. UNESCO listed the chain on its List of World Heritage Sites in Europe in 2005.[11]

In 1853, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society.[12]

Family

Struve was the second of a dynasty of astronomers through five generations. He was the great-grandfather of Otto Struve and the father of Otto Wilhelm von Struve. He was also the grandfather of Hermann von Struve, who was Otto Struve's uncle.

In 1815 he married Emilie Wall (1796–1834) in Altona, who bore 12 children, 8 of which survived early childhood. In addition to Otto Wilhelm von Struve, other children were Heinrich Wilhelm von Struve (1822–1908), a prominent chemist, and Bernhard Wilhelm von Struve [ru] (1827–1889), who served as a government official in Siberia and later as governor of Astrakhan and Perm.[3][5]

After his first wife died, he remarried to Johanna Henriette Francisca Bartels (1807–1867), a daughter of the mathematician Martin Bartels,[3] who bore him six more children. The most well-known was Karl von Struve (1835–1907), who served successively as Russian ambassador to Japan, the United States, and the Netherlands.[3][5]

Bernhard's son Pyotr Struve (1870–1944) is probably the best known member of the family in Russia proper (his other descendants mainly resided in Estonia and Latvia, and subsequently in Germany). He was one of the first Russian marxists and penned the manifesto of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party upon its creation in 1898. Even before the party split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, Struve left it for the Constitutional Democratic party, which promoted ideas of liberalism. He represented this party at all the pre-revolutionary State Dumas. After the Russian Revolution, he published several striking articles on its causes and joined the White movement. In the governments of Pyotr Wrangel and Denikin he was one of the ministers. During the following three decades, Pyotr lived in Paris, while his children were prominent in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b A. H. Batten (1988). Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve. Dordrecht, Holland: Springer. p. 9. ISBN 978-90-277-2652-0.
  2. ^ Erki Tammiksaar. "Baltic German natural scientists in the science system of the Russian empire". Estonian Institute. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g V. K. Abalkin et al. Struve dynasty Archived 14 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian), St. Petersburg University
  4. ^ a b c Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve Archived 3 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i A. H. Batten (1977). "The Struves of Pulkovo – A Family of Astronomers". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 71: 345. Bibcode:1977JRASC..71..345B.
  6. ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 22 October 2010.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter S" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  8. ^ A. H. Batten (1988). Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve. Dordrecht, Holland: Springer. p. 135. ISBN 978-90-277-2652-0.
  9. ^ Lutz D. Schmadel (2003). Dictionary of minor planet names. Springer. p. 73. ISBN 3-540-00238-3.
  10. ^ "The Struve Succession". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  11. ^ Struve Geodetic Arc, UNESCO
  12. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 16 April 2021.

External links

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