Joseph Johann von Littrow
Joseph von Littrow | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 30 November 1840 | (aged 59)
Nationality | Austrian |
Alma mater | Charles University |
Known for | Littrow projection |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Astronomer |
Institutions | Krakau University Kazan University Vienna Observatory Buda Observatory University of Vienna |
Doctoral students | Nikolai Brashman Ivan Simonov |
Notes | |
Note that he was the father of Karl Ludwig von Littrow and Heinrich von Littrow. He was the father-in-law of Auguste von Littrow. |
Joseph Johann von Littrow (13 March 1781, Horšovský Týn (German: Bischofteinitz) – 30 November 1840, Vienna) was an Austrian astronomer. In 1837, he was ennobled with the title Joseph Johann Edler von Littrow. He was the father of Karl Ludwig Edler von Littrow and the mentor of the mathematician Nikolai Brashman.[1] His work took him to Russia for a time, which is where his son who succeeded him was born.
He became director of the Vienna Observatory in 1819. He served in this position until his death in 1840. He created the only conformal retroazimuthal map projection, which is known as the Littrow projection. Littrow authored the widely read Wunder des Himmels ("Miracles of the Sky"), which was reprinted eight times by 1897.[2]
Von Littrow is often associated with a proposal to dig a large circular canal in the Sahara desert and fill it with burning kerosene, thus communicating the fact of human intelligence to aliens who may be observing Earth.[3] However, Von Littrow's connection with this scheme may be apocryphal.[3][4]
The crater Littrow on the Moon is named in his honor.
He is the great-great-great-grandfather of Roman Catholic Cardinal Christoph Schönborn.
Timeline
- 1799 Entered Charles University
- 1802 Graduated in jurisprudence and theology
- 1803 Became the private tutor of count J. Renard in Silesia
- 1807 Appointed professor of astronomy Krakau University
- 1810 Established the observatory at Kazan University
- 1816 Became co-director of the observatory at Ofen (Buda)
- 1819 Appointed professor of astronomy at the University of Vienna and became director of the first university observatory Vienna, which he reorganized completely
References
- ^ Joseph Johann von Littrow at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- ^ Andreas W. Daum, Wissenschaftspopularisierung im 19. Jahrhundert: Bürgerliche Kultur, naturwissenschaftliche Bildung und die deutsche Öffentlichkeit, 1848–1914. Munich: Oldenbourg, 1998, ISBN 3-486-56337-8, pp. 500.
- ^ a b Zappe, Hans (2010). Fundamentals of Micro-Optics. Cambridge University Press. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-521-89542-2.
- ^ The Internet Encyclopedia of Science
External links
- Atlas des Gestirnten Himmels Archived 2018-09-17 at the Wayback Machine, published in Stuttgart in 1839. – Full digital facsimile, Linda Hall Library
- Atlas des gestirnten himmels, Stuttgart 1854 da www.atlascoelestis.com
- Articles with short description
- Short description is different from Wikidata
- Articles with hCards
- Articles containing German-language text
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- Webarchive template wayback links
- Articles with FAST identifiers
- Articles with ISNI identifiers
- Articles with VIAF identifiers
- Articles with WorldCat Entities identifiers
- Articles with BIBSYS identifiers
- Articles with BNF identifiers
- Articles with BNFdata identifiers
- Articles with GND identifiers
- Articles with ICCU identifiers
- Articles with J9U identifiers
- Articles with KBR identifiers
- Articles with LCCN identifiers
- Articles with Libris identifiers
- Articles with LNB identifiers
- Articles with NKC identifiers
- Articles with NLG identifiers
- Articles with NTA identifiers
- Articles with PLWABN identifiers
- Articles with VcBA identifiers
- Articles with CINII identifiers
- Articles with Leopoldina identifiers
- Articles with MGP identifiers
- Articles with ZBMATH identifiers
- Articles with DTBIO identifiers
- Articles with SUDOC identifiers
- 19th-century Austrian astronomers
- Astronomers from the Austrian Empire
- Expatriates in the Russian Empire
- Habsburg Bohemian nobility
- People from Horšovský Týn
- German Bohemian people
- 1781 births
- 1840 deaths
- Edlers of Austria
- All stub articles
- Austrian scientist stubs
- European astronomer stubs