Contents
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
Cataloguing double stars and initiating the Struve Geodetic Arc.
Double-star catalogue · Struve Geodetic Arc
- Born
- 15 April 1793
- Birthplace
- Altona
- Died
- 23 November 1864
More people
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve was a Baltic German astronomer who directed the Dorpat and Pulkovo observatories.
Early life
Studies
Entered Dorpat University in 1808, initially studying philology before turning to astronomy.
Career
- 1820
Dorpat Observatory
Became its director and a full professor.
- 1827
Royal Medal
Recognised by the Royal Society.
- 1839
Pulkovo Observatory
Became director of the new observatory near St Petersburg.
Contributions
Double-star catalogue
Published a systematic catalogue of paired stars.
Struve Geodetic Arc
Initiated triangulation measurements used to establish Earth’s shape.
Beyond research
Family
His son Otto Wilhelm and later descendants continued the family’s work in astronomy.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
Photo: Artistic portrait; Petr Borel / Sergey Lvovich Levitsky. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.