Gustav Wilhelm Ludwig von Struve (November 1, 1858 – November 4, 1920) was a
Baltic German
Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
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 ...
, part of the famous
Baltic German
Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
Struve family
The Struve family (pronounced in German, in Russian) were a Baltic German noble family of Eastphalian origin and originated in Magdeburg, the family produced five generations of astronomers from the 18th to 20th centuries. Members of the family ...
. In
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, his name is sometimes given as Lyudvig Ottovich Struve (Людвиг Оттович Струве) or Lyudvig Ottonovich Struve (Людвиг Оттонович Струве).
Biography
Gustav Wilhelm Ludwig von Struve was born in 1858 in
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the cen ...
– a former
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
residence of the
imperial family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pap ...
and visiting nobility, located south from the center of
St. Petersburg. He was the fourth son of
Otto Wilhelm von Struve
Otto Wilhelm von Struve (May 7, 1819 (Julian calendar: April 25) – April 14, 1905) was a Russian astronomer of Baltic German origins. In Russian, his name is normally given as Otto Vasil'evich Struve (Отто Васильевич Струве ...
and Emilie Dyrssen (1823–1868) and a younger brother of astronomer
Hermann Struve. Ludwig followed his family traditions and between 1876 and 1880 studied astronomy at the
Imperial University of Dorpat
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
. For his post-graduate research started at the
Pulkovo Observatory
The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory (russian: Пулковская астрономическая обсерватория, Pulkovskaya astronomicheskaya observatoriya), officially named the Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academ ...
which was headed by his father. In 1883, Ludwig defended his PhD thesis on "Resultate aus den in Pulkowa angestellen Vergleichungen von Procyon mit benachbarten Sternen" (Results obtained in Pulkovo on relation of
Procyon
Procyon () is the brightest star in the constellation of Canis Minor and usually the eighth-brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34. It has the Bayer designation α Canis Minoris, which is Latinize ...
with the neighboring stars). Between 1883 and 1886, Struve was staying abroad in several European observatories, including those in
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
,
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
. His major influences in astronomy were his father and the Italian astronomer
Giovanni Schiaparelli
Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli ( , also , ; 14 March 1835 – 4 July 1910) was an Italian astronomer and science historian.
Biography
He studied at the University of Turin, graduating in 1854, and later did research at Berlin Observatory, ...
. Between 1886 and 1894, Struve worked as an astronomer at the
Tartu Observatory
The Tartu Observatory ( et, Tartu Observatoorium) is the largest astronomical observatory in Estonia. On 1 January 2018, Tartu Observatory was joined again to the University of Tartu, and the observatory is now an institute of the university. I ...
. In 1887, using results obtained during his European trip, he prepared and defended the
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
thesis titled "Neue Bestimmung der Constante der Precession und der eigenen Bewegung des Sonnensystems" (New determination of the constant of precession and of the motion of the Solar System).
[Balyshev Marat. Otto Ludwigovich Struve (1897-1963).- Moscow: Nauka, 2008. - 526 p.][Struve, (Gustav Wilhelm) Ludwig (Ottovich) von (1858-1920)]
(in Russian)
Research
A few years after retirement of his father, in 1894, Ludwig moved to the University of Kharkiv
The Kharkiv University or Karazin University ( uk, Каразінський університет), or officially V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University ( uk, Харківський національний університет імені ...
. There, in 1897 he became professor in astronomy and geodesy
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
and director of the observatory. Prior to Struve, the Kharkiv Observatory
Institute of Astronomy of Kharkiv National University, or Kharkiv Astronomical Observatory — is a scientific institution at Kharkiv University. The institution was founded in 1808 as the astronomy laboratory of the university, and in 1888, mainl ...
was not registered within the Russian leveling network and the altitude of Kharkiv was based on rather inaccurate trigonometric leveling conducted by local triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points.
Applications
In surveying
Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...
. It took Struve five years of hard work to include the observatory to the Russian leveling network. In 1912, he was elected as Dean of the Physics and Mathematics Department of Kharkiv University. In 1914, he founded a workshop of fine mechanics at the department and headed it for five years. Prior to that, such institutions had been nonexistent in Russia, and foreign engineers were personally invited for precision mechanical work. Struve attempted to build a national school in this area, but with limited success. He himself was a skilled engineer and constructed an instrument for the measurement of "an individual error using artificial star.” This device was invented by H. G. van de Sande Bakhuyzen at the Leiden Observatory
Leiden Observatory ( nl, Sterrewacht Leiden) is an astronomical institute of Leiden University, in the Netherlands. Established in 1633 to house the quadrant of Rudolph Snellius, it is the oldest operating university observatory in the world, with ...
and was actively used by Struve.[
Struve's research was first focused on ]celestial mechanics
Celestial mechanics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the motions of objects in outer space. Historically, celestial mechanics applies principles of physics (classical mechanics) to astronomical objects, such as stars and planets, to ...
, in particular precession and other motion within the Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
. It then expanded on the study of the positions and motion of stars, in particular single and double star
In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes.
This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a bi ...
s lying within the angular range of the Tartu Observatory. He used occultation of stars by the Moon to refine the value of the lunar radius. He also determined the apex coordinates of the Sun's movement and was one of the first astronomers to estimate, in 1887, the rotation rate of the Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
.[V. K. Abalkin ''et al.']
Struve dynasty
(in Russian), St. Petersburg University
On the basis of his observations in Kharkiv, Struve compiled a catalogue "Observation of 779 zodiac stars” (1898–1902). Between 1908 and 1915, Struve with collaborators determined right ascension and declination of 1407 circumpolar star
A circumpolar star is a star that, as viewed from a given latitude on Earth, never sets below the horizon due to its apparent proximity to one of the celestial poles. Circumpolar stars are therefore visible from said location toward the nearest ...
s, taking about 11,000 observations for each coordinate. The results were published in the "Kharkiv differential catalogue of declination of 1407 circumpolar stars in FK4 system for mean epoch of 1911 year" and "The
results of a comparison of the catalogue of declination of 1407 circumpolar stars and the Fabritius catalogue with the tables of proper motion of 412 circumpolar stars".[
]
Late years
Struve was married to Elizaveta Khrystoforovna (1874–1964) and they had two sons and two daughters. Their first child, son Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fro ...
, was born in Kharkiv in 1897, and later became one of the most famous astronomers of the 20th century. Otto served as a White Russian officer in the losing side of the civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
that followed the Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
. Therefore, to avoid Bolshevik's repressions, Struve had to move in 1919 to Simferopol
Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...
where he had assumed professor position at the Tavrida University. He left in Kharkiv a collection of about 1400 historical letters involving his father and grandfather, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (russian: link=no, Василий Яковлевич Струве, trans. ''Vasily Yakovlevich Struve''; 15 April 1793 – ) was a Baltic German astronomer and geodesist from the famous Struve family. He is bes ...
. The collection had survived two wars and was preserved till the present days.[
After leaving Kharkiv, tragedy struck the Struve family with three deaths in the over the course of five months. In the summer of 1920, Ludwig's 9-year-old daughter Elizabeth drowned in front of him. Shortly afterward, his son Werner (1903–1920) died from ]tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, and in November, Ludwig himself died of a stroke. He was survived by his wife and daughter Yadviga (1901–1924), who returned to Kharkiv. Yadviga had taught German at Kharkiv Technology Institute, but died in 1924 of tuberculosis.[
]
Awards
In 1915, Struve received an award from the council of the Russian Astronomical Society
The Russian Astronomical Society (russian: Русское астрономическое общество was a society established in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1891 for the promotion of astronomy related studies. In 1894 the society also started ...
, where he was a member from 1893. The award was given for his work “Elaboration of the observations of
lunar occultation of the stars during the total lunar eclipse” that was carried within a collaboration between the Kharkiv and Pulkovo observatories.[
]
Citations and references
Cited sources
Balyshev, M.A. (2021). Ludwig von Struve (1858–1920): Development of Positional Astronomy at the Kharkiv Astronomical Observatory. Kinematics and Physics of Celestial Bodies, 37(5): 269-272.
Balyshev, M.A. (2021). Astronomer Ludwig Ottovich Struve (1858-1920): A scientific biography. Science and Science of Science, 3: 76-102. (In Ukrainian)
Balyshev M. (2007) Ludwig Ottonovich Struve. Notes historian. Universitates. Science and Enlightenment, 1. P.34-43.(In Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Struve, Ludwig
1858 births
1920 deaths
19th-century astronomers
20th-century Russian astronomers
Baltic-German people
Scientists from Saint Petersburg
Astronomers from the Russian Empire
Ludwig
University of Tartu alumni
Academic staff of Kharkiv Observatory