Wilhelm Peter Melhop

Wilhelm Peter Melhop , pseudonyms: Eduard Stralau, William Hope , (* July 16, 1802 in Hamburg ; † March 13, 1868 there ) was a German accountant , writer , instrument maker and amateur astronomer .

Life

Wilhelm Peter Melhop was the son of the shipbroker Wilhelm Peter Melhop (1740-1809) and his wife Christina Adelheid, née Fuhrmann (1768-1848). He grew up with a younger and three older siblings in Hamburg, where he attended Schünemann's private school. He then acquired a broad knowledge by studying literature on his own. In the following years Melhop worked as an accountant and independent dealer. He sold paper, instruments and natural cement that he obtained from Altenburg and occasionally also astronomical devices.

From 1830 Melhop wrote regularly for the Miscellen , the Aehrenleser , Die Nessel and the Hamburger Nachrichten . They were poems, short stories and descriptions of walks. His author name was mostly not mentioned. He also wrote articles on celestial science, which he signed with the abbreviation "-p". In 1830 he published his only volume of poetry under the pseudonym Eduard Stralau . Since 1828 he planned to start a newspaper called Der Naturfreund , but he did not succeed. Melhop kept a diary from 1816 to 1844, which he provided with his own illustrations. The entries indicate that he was often in nature, especially in the Wandsbeker wood , where he was impressed by the “magical abundance of nightingale song”. Melhop's diary is now kept in the State Archives of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg .

In addition to professional and literary activities, Melhop tried to improve the Aeolian harp . Around 1837 he built three such instruments, which can be found in the Museum of Art and Crafts . He also had what was supposedly the largest telescope in Hamburg at the time, with which he discovered a comet in 1844.

Melhop, who had been single for a long time, married Hanchen Krüger (1817–1869) in 1841. The son Wilhelm Melhop emerged from the marriage and later created Hamburg topographies.

literature

Hans Walden: Melhop, Wilhelm Peter . In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biographie . tape 2 . Christians, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-7672-1366-4 , pp. 280 . ( Preview in Google Books )

Individual evidence

↑ "This, like the letters of Mr. de Vico evident Comet was discovered in Rome in Hamburg first on 6 ^th September from Mr Melhop , an avid lover of astronomy not far from β Ceti seen. It has a bright core, a small tail and can be seen with the naked eye. "Astronomische Nachrichten, Vol. 22 (1844), p. 199 ( digitized version )
^ G. Kronk: Cometography: 54P / de Vico-Swift-NEAT : “Francesco de Vico (Rome, Italy) discovered this telescopic comet during a routine search for comets on 1844 August 23.09. [...] Independent discoveries were made by Melhop (Hamburg, Germany) on September 6 and by Hamilton L. Smith (Cleveland, Ohio, USA) on September 10. "(accessed on November 3, 2015)

personal data
SURNAME	Melhop, Wilhelm Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Stralau, Eduard (pseudonym); Hope, William (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German accountant, writer, instrument maker and amateur astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH	July 16, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH	Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH	March 13, 1868
Place of death	Hamburg

[AN_22_199-1] "This, like the letters of Mr. de Vico evident Comet was discovered in Rome in Hamburg first on 6 ^th September from Mr Melhop , an avid lover of astronomy not far from β Ceti seen. It has a bright core, a small tail and can be seen with the naked eye. "Astronomische Nachrichten, Vol. 22 (1844), p. 199 ( digitized version )

[54P-2] G. Kronk: Cometography: 54P / de Vico-Swift-NEAT : “Francesco de Vico (Rome, Italy) discovered this telescopic comet during a routine search for comets on 1844 August 23.09. [...] Independent discoveries were made by Melhop (Hamburg, Germany) on September 6 and by Hamilton L. Smith (Cleveland, Ohio, USA) on September 10. "(accessed on November 3, 2015)