Karl Ludwig von Littrow
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Karl Ludwig Littrow , since 1836 Edler von Littrow , also referred to in the literature as "Carl Ludwig Littrow" (* July 18, 1811 in Kazan , † November 16, 1877 in Venice ) was an Austrian astronomer , specialist author and director of the Vienna University Observatory .
Live and act
He was the son of the astronomer Joseph Johann von Littrow , ennobled in 1836 , and his brother Heinrich was a cartographer . Karl Ludwig stood by his father as an assistant from 1831 and followed him in 1842 as director of the Vienna University Observatory, after he had made himself known in particular by working on Hell's observation of the passage of Venus from 1769.
In 1847, Karl Ludwig von Littrow and Otto Wilhelm von Struve were appointed appraisal commissioner for the trigonometric connection between Russia and Austria-Hungary . As university dean in 1850 he made a major contribution to the permanent introduction of the institutions of German universities that were being tried in Austria at the time, and from 1862 he was actively involved in the work of Central European degree measurement . He also provided a new method of determining the longitude of the sea, worked with Edmund Weiss on the meteorological observations of the Vienna observatory and translated "Outline of a History of Astronomy in the Early 19th Century" by George Biddell Airy . In 1858 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .
Littrow wrote, among other things, a "Popular Geometry". In the physical dictionary of Johann Samuel Traugott Gehler , he published his "Directory of Geographical Locations " in 1844 , which he was able to publish separately in Leipzig in the same year (supplements 1846). The “Annals of the Vienna Observatory” have become one of the most important astronomical yearbooks under his leadership .
Littrow pushed through the new building of the Vienna University Observatory , which his father had suggested. However, he did not see its completion.
In 1879, Littrowgasse in Vienna- Währing (18th district) - along the observatory park - was named after him.
In 1839 Littrow married Auguste Bischoff , a German-Austrian writer and women's rights activist. His son Otto von Littrow , who died early, was the inventor of the Littrow spectrometer .
Fonts
- The toposcope on the St. Stephen's Tower in Vienna: an instrument that enables the tower keepers to always announce the location of a conflagration, day and night, with equal certainty . Gerold, Vienna 1837 digitized
- Popular geometry , 1839
- Contribution to a monograph by Halley's Comet , 1834
- Contribution to Adalbert Stifter's The Solar Eclipse on July 8, 1842
- Directory geograph. Locations , 1844
- Physical gatherings of the planets , 1859
- JJ v. Littrow's Comparison of the Most Excellent Measures, Weights, and Coins, Beck, 1844.
Karl von Littrow Memorial Medal
The Karl von Littrow Memorial Medal was an Austrian bronze award, it was issued in honor of the astronomer from 1878. It was a anticipated award for the new Vienna University Observatory, which was only completed in 1883 . This was a project of the honoree, which was started on his initiative during his lifetime, but was not yet finished.
The medal, created by the engraver Anton Scharff , weighs around 107 grams, has a diameter of 64 millimeters and shows a half-left bust of the namesake with the inscription "* CAROLO DE LITTROW HUMANITATE INGENIO DOCTRIN INSIGNI" on the front and the new ( University observatory planned and under construction at the time of issue as a front view and the two-line text “HARUM AEDIUM AUCTORI” and the year “MDCCCLXXVIII” in Roman numerals.
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Littrow, Karl Ludwig Edler von . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 15th part. Kaiserlich-Königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1866, pp. 293–296 ( digitized version ).
- Siegmund Günther : Littrow . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, pp. 2-4.
- Konradin Ferrari d'Occhieppo : Littrow Karl (Carl) Ludwig von. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1972, p. 252 f. (Direct links on p. 252 , p. 253 ).
- Weiss, Edmund: biography of Karl v. Littrow's. Vienna 1878.
- Jürgen Hamel , Isolde Müller, Thomas Posch: The history of the Vienna University Observatory. Represented using their historical instruments and a manuscript by Johann Steinmayr . Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-8171-1865-6 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Karl Ludwig von Littrow in the catalog of the German National Library
- Entry on Karl Ludwig von Littrow in the Austria Forum (in the AEIOU Austria Lexicon )
- Publications by CL (von) Littrow in the Astrophysics Data System
- Obituaries to CL von Littrow in the Astrophysics Data System
- Oesterr. Society for Coin and Medal Studies, medals 1878 by A. Scharff. Edition 1916 (PDF; 576 kB)
- Website of the Styrian Administration, commemorative medals with images
Individual evidence
- ^ Member entry by Karl von Littrow at the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina , accessed on November 18, 2015.
- ^ Website of the Styrian Administration, commemorative medals with images ( Memento of the original from May 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Littrow, Karl Ludwig von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 18, 1811 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kazan |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 16, 1877 |
| Place of death | Venice |