Johann Georg Tralles (15 October 1763 – 19 November 1822) 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

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

. He was born in

Hamburg, Germany (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and was educated at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

beginning in 1783. He became a professor at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

in 1785. In 1810, he became a professor of mathematics at the

University of Berlin 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 ...

. In 1798 he served as the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

representative to the French metric convocation, and was a member of its committee on weights and measures. An iron "committee" meter, a duplicate of the prototype archive meter, was then given as a gift to

Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler (October 6, 1770 – November 20, 1843) was a Swiss-American surveyor who is considered the forefather of both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Institute of Standards and Techno ...

. From 1803 until 1805 these two men worked together on a topological survey of the Canton of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. In 1819, he discovered the Great Comet of 1819,

Comet Tralles The Great Comet of 1819, officially designated as C/1819 N1, also known as Comet Tralles, was an Great comet, exceptionally bright and easily visible comet, approaching an apparent magnitude of 1–2, discovered July 1, 1819 by the German astrono ...

, named after him. He was the inventor of the ''alcoholometer'', a device for measuring the amount of alcohol in a liquid. He died in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. The crater Tralles 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, as is the ''alcoholometer'' he invented.

References

Bibliography

* "Der erste Ordinarius für Mathematik an der Universität Berlin", Eine Edition seiner Antrittsvorlesung, 1810. * "Beytrag zur Lehre von der Elektrizität" Bern, Haller, 1786

External links

Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler and the United States Coast Survey
including his early work with Tralles.

Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. 1763 births 1822 deaths University of Göttingen alumni 18th-century German physicists Discoverers of comets 18th-century German mathematicians 19th-century German mathematicians 19th-century German physicists Academic staff of the University of Bern Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin {{Germany-mathematician-stub