Egbert Adriaan Kreiken (1 November 1896, Barneveld,

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

– 16 August 1964) was a Dutch teacher and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

. He was born at Barneveld in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, to a family of teachers. After being awarded his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in 1923, he would become a professor of astronomy in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. For most of his life he served as an educator, working in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. While he was in

he served as that nation's Minister of Education. He became the director of the astronomy institute in

, after moving there in 1954. He would help found the

Ankara University Observatory The Ankara University Observatory (AUG) ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi Gözlemevi), is a Observatory#Ground-based observatories, ground-based astronomical observatory operated by the Astronomy and Space Sciences Department at Ankara University's Fac ...

. Over a forty-year career he would publish a number of papers on astronomy, including studies of stars and stellar systems. He died in 1964 as the result of a painful ailment. The crater Kreiken on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is named after him.

External links

Prof. Dr. Egbert Adriaan KREIKEN (1896-1964)ObituaryTeaching in Monrovia in 1952
1896 births 1964 deaths People from Barneveld 20th-century Dutch astronomers Dutch expatriates in Indonesia Dutch expatriates in Turkey Dutch expatriates Expatriates in Liberia {{Europe-astronomer-stub