Heinrich Friedrich Gretschel (21 October 1830, Prietitz near Elstra,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– 2 February 1892,

Freiburg, Switzerland , Location of , Location of () () or , ; or , ; gsw, label=Swiss German, Frybùrg ; it, Friburgo or ; rm, Friburg. is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), ...

) was a German

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and scientist. In 1847, Gretschel became a student at the Technischen Bildungsanstalt (now

TU Dresden TU Dresden (for german: Technische Universität Dresden, abbreviated as TUD and often wrongly translated as "Dresden University of Technology") is a public research university, the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, th ...

). On 28 April 1851 he was enrolled at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

, where he studied mathematics, natural sciences and ancient languages. In 1854, he passed the examination for the higher school office in the first ranking and became a teacher at the Leipziger Gesamtgymnasium. On 2 January 1873 he was promoted by the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Leipzig as a result of completing the mathematical dissertation, ''Lehrbuch zur Einführung in die organische Geometrie'' ("Introduction to organic geometry"). On 7 January 1873 he became professor of mathematics and geometric construction at the

Bergakademie Freiberg The Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg (abbreviation: TU Bergakademie Freiberg, TUBAF) is a public university of technology with currently 3655 students in the city of Freiberg, Saxony, Germany. Its focus is on exploration, mining & ...

, a position that he held until his death in 1892. In 1876, Gretschel became a Bergrat professor. During 1875–1880, 1881–1883, and 1886–1889 he belonged to the Bergakademischen Senate. Gretschel wrote and lectured in a wide range of fields, publishing books about

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...

and

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

. He and

Georg Bornemann Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * G ...

wrote about the organization of the

periodic table The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an icon of ch ...

, published as ''Das Naturliche System der Elemente'' (1883). Gretschel also wrote about the construction of stringed instruments in the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

family and co-wrote a book on the construction of the

pianoforte The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

with

Julius Blüthner Julius Ferdinand Blüthner (11 March 1824 - 13 April 1910) was a German piano maker and founder of the Blüthner piano factory. Biography Blüthner was born in Falkenhain (now Meuselwitz), Thuringia. In 1853 he founded a piano-manufacturing ...

, ''Lehrbuch des Pianofortebaues'' (1872).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gretschel, Heinrich Friedrich 1830 births 1892 deaths Scientists from Saxony 19th-century German mathematicians People involved with the periodic table People from Bautzen (district)