Siegmund Günther

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Siegmund Günther

Adam Wilhelm Siegmund Günther (born February 6, 1848 in Nuremberg ; † February 4, 1923 in Munich ) was a German geographer , mathematician and natural scientist .

Life

Siegmund Günther, son of a Nuremberg merchant, attended the grammar school in his hometown from 1855 to 1865. As a schoolboy he developed a preference for geography. After graduating, Günther moved to the University of Erlangen and in 1865 became a member of the Bubenruthia fraternity . Since the geography subject did not yet exist at the time, Günther studied mathematics and physics . Over the years he moved to Heidelberg , Leipzig , Berlin and Göttingen . When the Franco-Prussian War broke out, he interrupted his studies in 1870 and volunteered as a war volunteer. After his release in 1871, he passed the first state examination in mathematics.

A year after graduation, in 1872, he was awarded the dissertation studies the theoretical photometry doctorate and became a teacher at the secondary school to White Castle on the sand . Within a year his habilitation he did with a view of the approximations of continued fractions in Independenter form , leaving the teaching profession and went as a lecturer in mathematics at the University of Erlangen. In 1875 he moved to the Technical University of Munich for three semesters . In 1877 he spent half a year as an assistant teacher at the high school in Amberg and was then appointed high school professor for mathematics and physics in Ansbach . After nine years of activity, he was appointed to the chair of geography at the Technical University of Munich as successor to Friedrich Ratzel . Günther developed a lively teaching activity far beyond the boundaries of his subject. He ensured that the geography seminar was equipped according to the latest technical standards. From 1911 to 1913 he was rector of the Technical University of Munich.

Günther was a member of the German Reichstag from 1878 to 1884 as a member of the German Progressive Party , initially for the constituency of Middle Franconia 1 (Nuremberg) and later of the German Liberal Party, constituency of Berlin 5 (Spandauer Vorstadt).

In 1877 Günther was elected a member of the Leopoldina learned society . The Natural History Society of Nuremberg made him an honorary member and dedicated an award publication to him on his 60th birthday. In 1900 he was elected an extraordinary member, in 1905 a full member of the mathematical-physical class of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences .

Quote

"As is well known, soon after the vote on the law on the extension of the validity of the Socialist Law last May, it became known that the liberalists , although opponents of the law, for fear that a rejection of it might harm them," ordered "some of theirs had to prevent rejection. Soon after the elections, this matter was brought up again at a Berlin party meeting, but was denied by the leaders of the "Liberals". The other day, when the report on the implementation of the Socialist Act was being discussed, the matter came up again in the Reichstag, and here Herr Eugen Richter took the opportunity to declare “that neither Herr Abg. Kämffer (who had been cited as a witness for this) yet another member of the liberal party, on behalf of the party executive committee, received an invitation not to appear here. Kämffer with the revelation that the Abg. Günther-Berlin and 10 or 12 other colleagues with the same name, “i. A .: Dr. Hermes ”had received letters signed, stating“ that their presence at the vote on the Socialist Law is not necessary ”and that Dr. O. Hermes, asked by Kämpffer on whose behalf he wrote these letters, replied: “Well, in Eugen's name”. Now, as noted above, Eugen Richter has denied that such letters were written on behalf of the party executive. It follows either that Herr Eugen Richter was untruthful or that he appears in two roles, as required, now as a party executive, now as a private individual, and that he uses the invisibility cloak as a private individual when he is accountable as a party executive is pulled. That's quite convenient. "

- Latest Mittheilungen Ed. By H. Klee IV. Vintage. No. 17. Berlin, February 10, 1885. p. 2.

plant

Günther's publication activity was initially mathematically oriented. He was already better known as a high school teacher with numerous school programs and manuals. From 1876 to 1886 he was one of the editors of the magazine for mathematics and science classes. In addition to important problem discussions and solutions, Günther dealt intensively with the history of mathematics and in particular linked mathematical and geographical research questions . His Mixed Studies on the History of Mathematical Sciences appeared in 1876, his History of Mathematics I: From the Elderly Times to Cartesius in 1908, and his History of Mathematical Education in the German Middle Ages in 1887 up to 1525 .

In addition to mathematics, meteorology was another focus of Günther's work. His early works The Influence of Heavenly Bodies on Weather Conditions (1874) and Practical Meteorology (1881) met with great acclaim. After 1900 he carried out extensive research on the phenomenon of earthquakes , and he also devoted himself to volcanological studies. His geophysical writings earned him the greatest fame, especially his main work Handbuch der Geophysik (two volumes, 1st edition 1884/1885, 2nd edition 1897/1898). The history of geography (Leipzig and Vienna 1904) was the first work of its kind. In 1915 the volume Astronomische Geographie (reprinted 1919) appeared in the Göschen collection of the Walter de Gruyter publishing house .

Günther wrote numerous biographies. For the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie alone he wrote more than 200 articles. He wrote the general introductory part of the fourth volume of the lectures on the history of mathematics by Moritz Cantor (1908) on mathematics at the end of the 18th century.

Publications (selection)

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Siegmund Günther  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Directors, rectors, presidents since the university was founded in 1868. Accessed on August 24, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Günther, Siegmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Günther, Adam Wilhelm Siegmund (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geographer, scientist and politician (DFP), MdR
DATE OF BIRTH February 6, 1848
PLACE OF BIRTH Nuremberg
DATE OF DEATH February 4, 1923
Place of death Munich