Richard Börnstein (9 January 1852 – 13 May 1913) was a German physicist and meteorologist. Born into a Jewish family in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

, he studied natural sciences 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 ...

, and later on, worked as an assistant to

Georg Hermann Quincke Georg Hermann Quincke FRSFor HFRSE (; November 19, 1834 – January 13, 1924) was a German physicist. Biography Born in Frankfurt-on-Oder, Quincke was the son of prominent physician ''Geheimer Medicinal-Rath'' Hermann Quincke and the older bro ...

at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. In 1877 he obtained his

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 ...

at Heidelberg, and afterwards taught classes in

experimental physics Experimental physics is the category of disciplines and sub-disciplines in the field of physics that are concerned with the observation of physical phenomena and experiments. Methods vary from discipline to discipline, from simple experiments and ...

and meteorology at the Agricultural Academy in Proskau. From 1881 onward, he served as a professor at the

Agricultural University of Berlin The Agricultural University of Berlin (german: Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule Berlin) was an agricultural university in Berlin, Germany. Established in 1881, it was closed in 1934, and incorporated as a faculty into the Humboldt University of Ber ...

.Börnstein, Richard Leopold, Meteorologe
In

Neue Deutsche Biographie ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...

(NDB). Band 2, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1955, , . At the university in Berlin he established a meteorological station. He is also credited with the development of a pressure

anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ( ...

(1883) and making improvements in regards to

rain gauge A rain gauge (also known as udometer, pluvia metior, pluviometer, ombrometer, and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a predefined area, over a period o ...

methodology. In 1883, with chemist

Hans Heinrich Landolt Hans Heinrich Landolt (5 December 1831 – 15 March 1910) was a Swiss chemist who discovered iodine clock reaction. He is also one of the founders of Landolt–Börnstein database. He tested law of mass conservation which was given by Lavoisier. B ...

, he published the first edition of the '' Physikalisch-Chemische Tabellen'' (now referred to as the " Landolt-Börnstein"; it contains more than 400 volumes of data from all areas of the

physical sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phy ...

). He died in Berlin, aged 61.

Selected works

* ''Der Einfluss des Lichtes auf den elektrischen Leistungswiderstand von Metallen'' (habilitation thesis, 1877) – The influence of light on the electric power resistance of metals. * ''Unterhaltungen über das Wetter'', 1905 – Conversations about the weather. * ''Sichtbare und unsichtbare Strahlen'', 1905 – Visible and invisible rays. * ''Die Lehre von der Wärme'', 1907 – The theory of heat. * ''Leitfaden der Wetterkunde'', 1913 – Guide of meteorology. He also made contributions to

Richard Assmann Richard Assmann (Anglicized spelling of the German name Richard Aßmann) (13 April 1845 in Magdeburg – 28 May 1918 in Gießen) was a German meteorologist and physician who was a native of Magdeburg. He made numerous contributions in high altitud ...

's ''Wissenschaftliche Luftfahrten'' ("Scientific balloon rides", 1899–1900).Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn Verlagskatalog: 1786–1986
by Frank Lube

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Börnstein, Richard 1852 births 1913 deaths Scientists from Königsberg University of Göttingen alumni 19th-century German Jews Jewish physicists German meteorologists 19th-century German physicists 20th-century German physicists

Selected works

See also

References