Resolute and Undertaking Characters: The Lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve

279 Pages·1988·19.25 MB·English

by  Alan H. Batten (auth.)

RESOLUTE AND UNDERTAKING CHARACTERS:
THE LIVES OF WILHELM AND OTTO STRUVE
ASTROPHYSICS AND
SPACE SCIENCE LIBRARY
A SERIES OF BOOKS ON THE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
OF SPACE SCIENCE AND OF GENERAL GEOPHYSICS AND ASTROPHYSICS
PUBLISHED IN CONNECTION WITH THE JOURNAL
SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS
Edllonal Board
R L F BOYD, Ulllversm College, London, England
W B BURTON, Sterrewacht, Lelden, The Netherlands
L GOLDBERG, Kill Peak NatIOnal Observaton, Tucson, Ariz, USA
C DE JAGER, Ulllverslly of Utrecht, The Netherlands
J KLECZEK, Czechoslovak Academv of SCiences, OndfeJov, Czechoslovakia
Z KOPAL, UlllveTSlty of Manchester, England
R LUST, European Space Agencv, Pans, France
L I SEDOV, Academy of SCiences of the U S S R , Moscow, US S R
Z SVESTKA, Laboratorv for Space Research, Utrecht, The Netherlands
VOLUME 139
RESOLUTE AND
UNDERTAKING
CHARACTERS:
THE LIVES
OF
WILHELM AND OTTO
STRUVE
by
ALAN H. BATTEN
Dominion Astrophysical Observatory
Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics
Victoria, B. C, Canada
D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY
A MEMBER OF THE KLUWER ACADEMICPUBUSHERSGROUP
DORDRECHT/BOSTON/LANCASTER/TOKYO
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Batten, Alan Henry, 193~
Resolute and undertaking characters: the lives of Wilhelm and Otto Struve
/ by Alan H. Batten.
p. cm. - (Astrophysics and space science library; v. 139)
Includes bibliographies and indexes.
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-7798-9 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-2883-1
DOl: 10.1007/ 978-94-009-2883-1
1. Struve, F. G. W. (Friedrich Georg Wilhelm), 179~1864. 2. Struve, O. W.
(Otto W.), 1819-1905. 3. Astronomy-Soviet Union-History-19th century.
4. Astronomy-Soviet Union-History-20th century. 5. Astronomers-Soviet
Union-Biography. 6. Astronomers-Germany-Biography. I. Title. II. Series.
QB36.S75B38 1987
520' . 92'2-dc 19
[BJ 87-30386
CIP
Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company,
P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, Holland.
Sold and distributed in the U.S.A. and Canada
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In all other countries, sold and distributed
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P.O. Box 322, 3300 AH Dordrecht, Holland.
All Rights Reserved
© 1988 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1988
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical
induding photocopying, recording or by any information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner
To
Lois
who walked with me
in the jootsteps oj the Struves
T ABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface xi
General Note xv
Bibliographical Note xix
Acknowledgements XXI
Chronological Summary of the lives of
Wilhelm and Otto Struve xxiii
Chapter 1: Family Origins and Wilhelm's Childhood
Chapter 2: Student Days at Dorpat University 12
Chapter 3: Astronomy at the Beginning of the
Nineteenth Century 22
Chapter 4: Measuring the Earth 30
Chapter 5: The Great Refractor 44
Chapter 6: The Founding of Pulkovo 66
Chapter 7: The Astronomical Capital of the World 88
Chapter 8: Measuring the Sky 113
Chapter 9: The Early Pulkovo Years 130
Chapter 10: "Etudes d'astronomie stellaire" 144
Chapter 11: Wilhelm's Illness and Last Years 156
Chapter 12: The Transition 168
Chapter 13: The Companion of Procyon and the
Transits of Venus 181
Chapter 14: The 3D-Inch Refractor 196
Chapter 15: Mapping the Sky 209
Chapter 16: Otto's Retirement and Last Years 219
Epilogue: The Family Tradition 235
Name Index 245
Subject Index 258
Do you remember the tall Bernhard? He left home in January month to go to IRKUZK IN
SIBERIA, in advance of 4,500 miles from us. A friend of mine, General Muraviev, recently
became Governor General of the Eastern Siberia, and took him home to his own office
under very convenient conditions. You can believe that this was an arrangement not
made by me the father, but in consequence to the wishes and the spontaneous declaration
of the young m.m, with which I was very satisfied, for I like a resolute and undertaking
character.
From a letter (in English) written by
Wilhelm Struve to George Airy
(Astronomer Royal) on April 20/8, 1848.
WILHELM STRUVE
OTTO STRUVE
PREFACE
My interest in the history of the Struve family is long-standing but lay
dormant until 1972, when I found myself organizing a symposium of the
International Astronomical Union in memory of the second Otto Struve. To
satisfy my own curiosity, I investigated the precise relationships of the famous
astronomers in the family and published an account of them, based mainly on
secondary sources. The exercise made me a ware that there was no biography in
English of the first and probably still the greatest astronomer in the clan --
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve. Wilhelm's son, the first Otto, wrote an
account (in German) of his father's life, intended primarily for family and
close friends and --though printed-- not generally available. Through the
kindness of a family member I have a copy from which I have been able to
work. The Soviet historian of science, Z.K. Sokolovskaya, wrote a biography in
Russian, in 1964, to mark the centenary of Wilhelm's death. This had a limited
edition, and my efforts to obtain a copy failed. Neither work has, in its
entirety, been translated into English, although Michael Meo of Oakland,
California, and Kevin Krisciunas of Hilo, Hawaii, have kindly made available
to me their unpublished translations of some sections of the latter. In the
absence of a complete copy, however, when I decided to attempt an English-
language biography, I thought it best to do so independently of Sokolovskaya's.
Wilhelm Struve deserves a biography solely on account of his own
contributions to astronomy and geodesy, but his fascination is increased by the
number of descendants who became eminent in astronomy (and in other
scholarly fields) and by the turbulence of the times through which he lived.
There must have been something extraordinary about the man and I soon came
to feel I could not do him justice in a book that attempted to cover the wholc
family saga. On the other hand, the career of his son, the first Otto, was too
closely bound to his own to be separated. In turn, Otto's life was so long that
he saw the most active phases in the lives of his two astronomer sons. Thus the
book now completed deals with three generations of astronomers in the family.
If ever a sequel is written, it will deal primarily with the lives and work of
two cousins: Georg and the second Otto.
Although I hope this book has some value as history, my aim is to reach
a wider group than historians of astronomy. Too often, scientists are the object
of either uncritical adulation or indiscriminate hostility. I hope to have shown
that the scientists in this unusual family shared many of the characteristics of
the rest of mankind. There is a very human side to their story which I have
tried to interweave with an account of their scientific achievements. I have
also tried to popularize some of the basic work of science. Measuring double
stars and parallaxes does not now enjoy the glamour of observing black holes
xi
XII PREFACE
and quasars, but to the scientists of 150 years ago, these routine jobs of today
were every bit as exciting as our latest fashions are to us --and they were the
essential first steps towards our own achievements. I hope to have given non-
scientists some understanding of how astronomers first became able to measure
the vast distances of the universe. Finally, I hope that this account of the
achievements of a man who, as a youth, was so nearly drafted into Napoleon's
army, might encourage members of a generation who find it so much more
difficult than I did to launch themselves into a rewarding career in astronomy.
Only with reluctance have I referred to the Struve astronomers,
throughout this book, by their Christian names. I imagine that in life they set
some store by correct and formal modes of address and I myself dislike
adopting so easy a familiarity with men whose scientific achievements arc far
superior to my own. The constant repetition of the name "Struve" which would
otherwise have been required, however, would have been both monotonous and
confusing. Moreover, years of reading their writings, both published and in
letters, and meeting their descendants, have helped me to come to feel that I
know these men and can even regard them as friends.
Indeed, one of the unexpected rewards of this work has been meeting
the descendants of my two subjects. Apart from a few brief meetings with the
second Otto --before my interest in his family history was fully roused-- I have
met two other great-grandsons of Wilhelm Struve: the late Professor Gleb
Struve, of Berkeley, California, and Dr. Nils Lindhagen of Angleholm, Sweden.
I have also met two great-great grandsons: Dr. Wilfried Struve of Karlsruhe,
Germany, and Mr. Andrew Struve, son of Gleb Struve. In addition, I have
corresponded with Dipl.-Ing. Eugen Struve of Braunschweig, Germany, a third
great-grandson of Wilhelm. Each of the first three named, and their wives,
have welcomed me and my wife into their homes and provided me with
valuable photographs and documents. lowe a particular debt to Dr. Lindhagen
who has generously placed both his knowledge as a member of the family and
his expertise as an art historian at my disposal. Without his help, this book
would have very many fewer illustrations. Still more, his own enthusiasm and
encouragement for my project (and his occasional friendly criticism) have done
more than he knows to ensure the successful completion of my task.
It gives me pleasure that this book will appear close to several
significant anniversaries: the 200th anniversary of Herschel's recognition of the
binary nature of double stars (between 1782 and 1803), of Bessel's birth (1784),
Fraunhofer's (1787) and Wilhelm's own (1793); the 150th anniversary of the
first successful measurement of stellar parallax (1838-9) and of the founding of
Pulkovo Observatory (1839), and the 100th anniversary of the undertaking of
the Carte du ciel (1887).
wish to thank also the staffs and directors of the various libraries
where have found material to use. Especially I thank Miss Janet Dudley,
former librarian and archivist at the Royal Greenwich Observatory,
Herstmonceux, for help during and since one all-too-brief visit; Mrs. Enid Lake
and Mrs. Pamela Towlson, respectively former Librarian and current Assistant
Librarian of the Royal Astronomical Society in London, as well as the (to me)
anonymous but no less helpful staffs of the Royal Society Library, the Library