Karl von der Mühll (September 13, 1841, in Basel,

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

– May 9, 1912, in Basel) was a Swiss mathematician and physicist. He was born into the

Von der Mühll Von der Mühll or Von der Mühl is a Swiss patrician (see the Daig of Basel) and noble family. From the 18th century, with other patrician families in Basel ( Merian, Burckhardt, Faesch, Vischer), the Von der Mühll family dominated the city of ...

family, of the Basel patriciate (see Daig), to Karl Georg and Emilie Merian, of the Merian family, a granddaughter of

Peter Merian Peter Merian (20 December 1795– 8 February 1883) was a Swiss geologist and palaeontologist. He studied sciences at the University of Basel, the Academy of Geneva and at the University of Göttingen (1815–17), where he studied geology under J ...

. After graduating from high school in 1859, Von der Mühll studied natural sciences and mathematics at the University of Basel, with amongst others,

Gustav Heinrich Wiedemann Gustav Heinrich Wiedemann (; 2 October 1826 – 24 March 1899) was a German physicist and scientific author. Life Wiedemann was born in Berlin the son of a merchant who died two years later. Following the death of his mother in 1842 he lived wi ...

, and from 1861 studied at the Georg-August University in Göttingen with

Bernhard Riemann Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann (; 17 September 1826 – 20 July 1866) was a German mathematician who made contributions to analysis, number theory, and differential geometry. In the field of real analysis, he is mostly known for the first rig ...

, Wilhelm Eduard Weber, Wilhelm Klinkerfues and

Friedrich Wöhler Friedrich Wöhler () FRS(For) HonFRSE (31 July 180023 September 1882) was a German chemist known for his work in inorganic chemistry, being the first to isolate the chemical elements beryllium and yttrium in pure metallic form. He was the firs ...

. From 1863, he continued his studies at the

Albertus University Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...

in Königsberg, where he turned to mathematical physics under

Franz Ernst Neumann Franz Ernst Neumann (11 September 1798 – 23 May 1895) was a German mineralogist, physicist and mathematician. Biography Neumann was born in Joachimsthal, Margraviate of Brandenburg, near Berlin. In 1815 he interrupted his studies at Berlin to ...

and received his doctorate in 1866. He also studied there with the mathematician

Friedrich Julius Richelot Friedrich Julius Richelot (6 November 1808 – 31 March 1875) was a German mathematician, born in Königsberg. He was a student of Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi. He was promoted in 1831 at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Königsberg wit ...

. In 1866/67, he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. Shortly after, in 1868, he completed his studies in Leipzig in mathematical physics and in 1872 he became an associate professor at the university. In 1889, he left Leipzig for Basel and became associate professor and in 1890 professor for mathematical physics at Basel University. In 1896, he became the university's financial administrator (''Curator fiscorum academicorum''). In the academic years 1895/96 and 1910/11, he was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the university. In 1887, he was elected a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He was president of the Swiss Euler Commission (and thus editor of Leonhard Euler's works) and published Franz Neumann's lectures on electrical currents in 1884. From 1872 he was co-editor of the ''

Mathematische Annalen ''Mathematische Annalen'' (abbreviated as ''Math. Ann.'' or, formerly, ''Math. Annal.'') is a German mathematical research journal founded in 1868 by Alfred Clebsch and Carl Neumann. Subsequent managing editors were Felix Klein, David Hilbert, ...

''. In 1875 he married Katharina His, daughter of Eduard His, also of the Basel Daig. Having suffered from several bouts of depression throughout his life, Von der Mühll committed suicide in 1912 and is buried in the Wolfgottesacker cemetery in Basel.

References

1841 births 1912 suicides 1912 deaths Academic staff of Leipzig University University of Basel alumni 20th-century Swiss mathematicians 19th-century Swiss mathematicians 19th-century Swiss physicists 20th-century Swiss physicists Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Rectors of universities in Switzerland University of Göttingen alumni Scientists from Basel-Stadt Leipzig University alumni Suicides in Switzerland {{Switzerland-academic-bio-stub