Christian Ludwig Gerling (mathematician)

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Christian Ludwig Gerling
Christian Ludwig Gerling, around 1857
Kurhessen triangulation 1837
Memorial plaque in Marburg

Christian Ludwig Gerling (born July 10, 1788 in Hamburg , † January 15, 1864 in Marburg ) was a German mathematician , astronomer and physicist .

Life

Gerling's father, who also bore the name Christian Ludwig Gerling , was a pastor at St. Jacobi in Hamburg. Gerling visited the Johanneum there . His teacher Karl Friedrich Hipp, who took care of the further education of the 12-year-old after the death of his father, sent him to the University of Helmstedt in 1809 . There he was registered for theology , but still attended a mathematics lecture with Johann Friedrich Pfaff . When the University of Helmstedt was closed in 1810, he moved, like Pfaff, to the Georg-August University of Göttingen . There he soon worked with his childhood friend Johann Franz Encke - whose father, who died early, had also worked as a deacon at St. Jacobi - at the observatory under Carl Friedrich Gauß and Karl Ludwig Harding . After he had given up studying theology, he received his doctorate in 1812 under Gauß with a thesis on the calculation of solar eclipses . In the same year he became a professor at the Lyceum in Kassel . In 1817 he was offered a professorship for mathematics at the Philipps University of Marburg . He stayed there until his death, although he received many attractive offers to move.

In 1814 he married Christiane Suabedissen. The couple had a son and three daughters.

plant

Gerling had already made orbital calculations for the small planet Vesta , discovered in 1807, in Göttingen , which he continued for some time. In addition, in 1815 he had published a new edition of the highly valued work Plan of Pure and Applied Mathematics , written by the school teacher Johann Friedrich Lorenz, who died in 1807 . In contrast to his doctoral supervisor Gauss, Gerling took a liking to training students. Julius Plücker received his doctorate from Gerling in 1823. Both were in close contact. Like Gauss, he also studied magnetism . Gerling was also responsible for expanding the physical laboratory in Marburg.

From 1822 to 1837 Gerling was entrusted with the first nationwide survey of the Electorate of Hesse . He created the basic surveying network required for this and thus also the basis for modern topographic maps and property surveying . To do this, he took up the surveying techniques developed by Gauß, including the use of a heliotrope , which allowed bearings to be taken over very long distances with a correspondingly high level of accuracy.

Fonts

  • The height of Marburg above the sea calculated from barometer observations , 1829 digitized
  • Contributions to the geography of Kurhessen and the surrounding areas: from the Kurhessian triangulation of the years 1822 to 1837
    • 2. Booklet: Contains the measurements of the years 1835, 1836 and 1837 together with the definitive calculation of the entire work . 1839 digitized

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christian Ludwig Gerling in the Mathematics Genealogy Project (English)Template: MathGenealogyProject / Maintenance / name used

Web links

Commons : Christian Ludwig Gerling  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Quarterly magazine of the Astronomical Society  - Sources and full texts
personal data
SURNAME Gerling, Christian Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German mathematician and astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1788
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH January 15, 1864
Place of death Marburg