Heinrich Vogt (October 5, 1890 – January 23, 1968) was a German

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

Early life

Vogt was born on October 5, 1890, in

Gau-Algesheim Gau-Algesheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Gau-Algesheim (Verbandsgemeinde), ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Gau-Algesheim, a kind of collective municipality. Geography Location Gau-A ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to Philipp Vogt, a farmer, and his wife Margaretha.

Education

In 1911, after graduating from high school in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, Vogt enrolled at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

to study astronomy, mathematics, and physics, where he was under the tutelage of

Max Wolf Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf (21 June 1863 – 3 October 1932) was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-K� ...

. His studies were interrupted due to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but he continued his scientific career and earned a PhD in 1919 with a dissertation on the topic "On the theory of

Algol variable Algol variables or Algol-type binaries are a class of eclipsing binary stars that are similar to the prototype member of this class, β Persei (Beta Persei, Algol). An Algol binary is a system where both stars are near-spherical such that ...

s". In 1921, he completed a

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

on "Photometric studies and brightness measurements in the cluster h and χ Persei".

Work and academic appointments

In 1926, Vogt was appointed as an associate professor at the

as well as the chief observer at Heidelberg State Observatory. In 1929 he was appointed as a full professor at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

as well as director of

Jena Observatory Astrophysikalisches Institut und Universitäts-Sternwarte Jena (AIU Jena, Astrophysical Institute and University Observatory Jena, or simply Jena Observatory) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Friedrich Schiller University of ...

. In 1931, he became a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

and rose to become a '' Politischer Leiter'' and the Nazi Party's liaison at the university. In 1933, he became a member of the ''

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; or 'Storm Troopers') was the original paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party of Germany. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and early 1930s. I ...

'', the paramilitary branch of the Nazi Party, and rose to the rank of ''

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK and the ...

''.

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was conce ...

: ''Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945''. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Zweite aktualisierte Auflage, Frankfurt am Main 2005, , p. 643. Vogt became a full professor at the University of Heidelberg in 1933, succeeding Max Wolf. From 1933 to 1945 he was the director of Heidelberg State Observatory. In 1945 he was dismissed from his position as director of the observatory, but retained his professorship until his retirement in 1957. He increased his teaching activities and began to write popular books on astronomy and cosmology. Heinrich Vogt and

Henry Norris Russell Henry Norris Russell ForMemRS HFRSE FRAS (October 25, 1877 – February 18, 1957) was an American astronomer who, along with Ejnar Hertzsprung, developed the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (1910). In 1923, working with Frederick Saunders, he ...

independently discovered the Vogt–Russell theorem. On 9 December 1912 Vogt discovered an

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

, 735 Marghanna, which he named in honor of his mother. The minor planet 1439 Vogtia, discovered by astronomer

Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth (4 April 1892 in Heidelberg – 6 May 1979 in Heidelberg) was a German astronomer and a prolific discoverer of 395 minor planets. Scientific career From 1912 to 1957, Reinmuth was working as an astronomer at the Heid ...

in 1937 was named after him.

Personal life

Vogt married Margarete Braun and had a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogt, Heinrich 1890 births 1968 deaths * 20th-century German astronomers Discoverers of asteroids