Adolph Theodor Kupffer
ForMemRS
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...
(17 January 1799
Jelgava
Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Du ...
– 4 June 1865) was a Baltic German (subject of Russian Empire) chemist, and physicist. He founded the Depot of Standard Weights and Measures, and the main physical Observatory in Russia.
Life
He studied at the school in
Mitau
Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united ...
, and discovered an interest in science, graduating in 1813.
He graduated from the
University of Dorpat
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
in 1816 and studied mineralogy with the
Christian Samuel Weiss
Christian Samuel Weiss (26 February 1780 – 1 October 1856) was a German mineralogist born in Leipzig.
Following graduation, he worked as a physics instructor in Leipzig from 1803 until 1808. and in the meantime, conducted geological studies of ...
in Berlin.
After the
Berlin University
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
, he studied in Paris and Göttingen, where he received his Ph.D. Arriving in St. Petersburg, Kupfer was called to the chair of chemistry and physics at Kazan, and was sent by the Ministry of Education abroad for the purchase of physical instruments, where he went to Professor
Ivan Simonov. In 1824, he arrived in Kazan and took his chair. Simultaneously, he worked on terrestrial magnetism, and magnetic charge of the geological expeditions in the vicinity of
Mount Elbrus.
Since 1828, he was a member of the Academy of Sciences of Mineralogy, and from 1840 in physics.
In 1828, he traveled to the South and Middle Urals. He visited
Zlatoust
Zlatoust ( rus, Златоуст, p=zlətɐˈust) is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Ay River (in the Kama basin), west of Chelyabinsk. Population: 181,000 (1971); 161,000 (1959); 99,000 (1939); 48,000 (1926); 21,000 ...
,
Miass
Miass ( rus, Миа́сс, p=mʲɪˈas) is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located west of Chelyabinsk, on the eastern slope of the Southern Ural Mountains, on the bank of the river Miass. Population:
Name
The name Miass is taken from ...
, and
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
. After seeing the Ural Mountains in the vicinity of
Zlatoust
Zlatoust ( rus, Златоуст, p=zlətɐˈust) is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Ay River (in the Kama basin), west of Chelyabinsk. Population: 181,000 (1971); 161,000 (1959); 99,000 (1939); 48,000 (1926); 21,000 ...
, he identified three mountain ranges: Urenga,
Taganay
Taganay (russian: Таганай, ba, Тағанай) is a group of mountain ridges in the Southern Urals, on the territory of Chelyabinsk Oblast, with the highest point rising 1178 m. above sea level. Taganay National Park was established in 199 ...
, and Yurmu. In 1833, he published a book in French, compiled from the diaries he kept during the Urals travel, ''Journey to the Urals, undertaken in 1828.'' In 1834, a copy of this book was presented to
Emperor Nicholas I
, house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp
, father = Paul I of Russia
, mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire
, death_date ...
.
In 1829, Kupfer traveled to the Caucasus, and was later appointed director of the Mineralogical Museum, and founded the St. Petersburg Observatory, which focused on meteorological observations throughout the empire.
Kupfer offered a plan to introduce a unified system of measures throughout Russia; he was chief executive of the Commission on Weights and Measures from 1832 to 1842. He led the development of Russian system of measures, and creation of the first standard units of mass and length, the platinum pounds and yards, as well as exemplary volume measures – buckets and the quadrangle. The results of his works were legitimized in the imperial decree in 1835, and they are described in the ''Travaux de la Commission pour fixer les mesures et les poids etc.'' (St. Petersburg, 1841).
In 1843 he was elected ordinary academician.
In 1859, he represented Russia at the Congress of the International Association for the introduction of a uniform system of measures, weights and coins in Bradford.
Beginning in 1857, Russia and France began to exchange meteorological data. Kupfer went to the negotiations abroad, and in winter 1865, he arranged to create a telegraphic communication between all European countries. Being essentially the creator of combined weather service, Kupfer did not have time to enjoy the fruits of his labors. During cold weather in March, while he was installing on the roof of the observatory an anemograph (self-recording
anemometer
In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ...
) that he brought from Paris, he caught cold and died of pneumonia two months later on 4 June 1865. He was buried in
Smolensky Lutheran Cemetery
The Smolenskoye Cemetery (in German ''Smolensker Friedhof'') is a Lutheran cemetery on Dekabristov Island in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is one of the largest and oldest non- orthodox cemeteries in the city. Until the early 20th century it was on ...
in St. Petersburg. Kupffer also pioneered in the setting up magnetometric observatory which took hourly observations of the magnetic field of the Earth.
Awards
*Deystvitelny State Advisor (1851).
*Chevalier
Order of St. Anna
The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...
1st Class (1864); St. Stanislaus 1st Class (1860); St. Vladimir 3rd degree (1856)
Works
He wrote more than 150 scientific papers in the field of crystallography, mineralogy, metallurgy, metrology, terrestrial magnetism, and meteorology.
Also, Kupfer lectured in physics at the
Pedagogical Institute of Mining. In addition to articles in ''Poggendorff's Annalen'', ''Bulletins de l'Académie''
* ''Dissertatio de calculo crystallonomico'' (Göttingen, 1821)
*'' Preisschrift über genaue Messung der Winkel an Krystallen''(Berlin, 1826)
*'' Voyage dans les environs du mont Elbrouz dans le Caucase'' (St. Petersburg ., 1830)
*''Reise in die Umgegend des Berges Elborus in Kaukasus'' (St. Petersburg, 1830)
*''Handbuch der rechnenden Krystallonomie'' (St. Petersburg, 1831)
*Voyage dans l'Oural entrepris en 1828'' (St. Petersburg, 1833; with atlas)
*''Guide to making magnetic and meteorological observations'' (St. Petersburg, 1835; it. Trans. B. Deringer, in «Corresp. Blatt des naturforschenden Vereins zu Riga», 1859)
*''Instructions pour faire des observations metéorologiques et magnétiques'' (St. Petersburg, 1836)
*'' Tables psychrometriques et barométriques à l'usage des observatoires météorologiques de rempire de Russie'' (St. Petersburg, 1841)
*'' The findings of meteorological observations in the Russian state'' (St. Petersburg, 1846)
*''Experimental studies of the elasticity of metals'' (St. Petersburg, 1860).
In addition, Kupfer published: ''Annales de l'observatoire physique central de Russie 1847-1856'' (St. Petersburg, 1856-1858, 10 vol.), and ''Compte rendu annuel'' for the years 1850–1863.
References
External links
ADB:Kupffer, Adolph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kupffer, Adolph Theodor
1799 births
1865 deaths
Physicists from the Russian Empire
19th-century German physicists
Foreign Members of the Royal Society
People from Jelgava
Burials at Smolensky Lutheran Cemetery
Deaths from pneumonia in Russia