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Heinrich Schwabe
Astronomer

Heinrich Schwabe

Famoose for

Discovering the periodic variation in sunspot numbers.

Sunspot cycle · Flora Anhaltina

Born
25 October 1789
Birthplace
Dessau
Died
11 April 1875

More people

Marie CurieDiscovering polonium and radium.Albert EinsteinDeveloping the theory of relativity.Charles DarwinExplaining evolution through natural selection.

Heinrich Schwabe

Heinrich Schwabe was a German amateur astronomer and former apothecary whose long series of solar observations revealed a cycle of activity.

Early life

Training

Trained in pharmacy in Dessau and Berlin before taking over his family’s business.

Career

  1. 1825

    Telescope

    Began observing sunspots.

  2. 1843

    Solar observations

    Published his evidence for a recurring cycle.

  3. 1857

    Royal Astronomical Society

    Received its Gold Medal.

Contributions

Sunspot cycle

Reported a roughly ten-year pattern in his observations.

Flora Anhaltina

Published a two-volume botanical survey.

Beyond research

Natural history

Helped found a natural-history society in Dessau and contributed mineral specimens.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Additional biographical or research source ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Artistic portrait; unknown, must be dead for more than 70 years. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.