Wilhelm Ule, sometimes referred to as Willi Ule (9 May 1861 in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

– 13 February 1940) was a German

geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...

and

limnologist Limnology ( ; from Greek λίμνη, ''limne'', "lake" and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristi ...

. He was the son of science writer

Otto Eduard Vincenz Ule Otto Eduard Vincenz Ule (22 January 1820, in Lossow – 7 August 1876, in Halle an der Saale) was a German writer, known for his popularization of natural sciences, and liberal politician. He was the father of botanist Ernst Heinrich Georg Ule ...

(1820-1876). He studied

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and Halle, where he graduated in 1888 with a dissertation on the lakes of

Mansfeld Mansfeld, sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places in ...

, ''Die Mansfelder Seen''. The following year he obtained his habilitation with a study on the depth ratios of

Masurian lakes The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lakeland ( pl, Pojezierze Mazurskie; german: Masurische Seenplatte) is a lake district in northeastern Poland within the geographical region of Masuria, in the past inhabited by Masurians who spoke the Masuri ...

. In 1889 he also became managing director of the

Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

. In 1907 he became an associate professor at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

, where in 1919 he was appointed full professor. He was editor of the ''Geographischen Arbeite'' and the ''Mitteilungen der geographischen Gesellschaft zu Rostock'' (Releases of the Geographical Society of

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

). Ule is sometimes referred to as "the founder of geography in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

". With Swiss scientist

François-Alphonse Forel François-Alphonse Forel (February 2, 1841 – August 7, 1912) was a Swiss physician and scientist who pioneered the study of lakes, and is thus considered the founder, and the Father of limnology.Prof. F. A. Forel. Nature 89, 638–639 (1912). ...

(1841-1912), he was co-creator of the "

Forel-Ule scale The Forel-Ule scale is a method to estimate the color of bodies of water. The scale provides a visual estimate of the color of a body of water, and it is used in limnology and oceanography with the aim of measuring the water's transparency and ...

", a method used for obtaining an approximate measurement of

surface water Surface water is water located on top of land forming terrestrial (inland) waterbodies, and may also be referred to as ''blue water'', opposed to the seawater and waterbodies like the ocean. The vast majority of surface water is produced by prec ...

color.

Selected writings

* ''Der Würmsee (Starnbergersee) in Oberbayern. Eine limnologische studie'', 1901 - The Würmsee (

Starnberg Starnberg is a German town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the " Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg. Recording a disposable per-capi ...

) in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

, a limnological study. * ''Bodengestalt und Gewässer'', 1907 -

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and groundwater. * ''Geographie von Mecklenburg'', 1909 - Geography of Mecklenburg. * ''Das Deutsche Reich; eine geographische landeskunde'', 1915 - The

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, geographic area studies. * ''Quer durch Süd Amerika'', 1924 - Across

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. * ''Physiogeographie des Süßwasser: Grundwasser, Quellen, Flüsse, Seen'', 1925 - Physical geography of

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

, springs, rivers, lakes. * ''Asien, Australien und die Südseeinseln, Amerika, die Polarländer'', 1928 - Asia, Australia and the

South Sea Islands Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

, America and

Polar region The polar regions, also called the frigid geographical zone, zones or polar zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North Pole, North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high l ...

s. * ''Mecklenburg'', 1930.Google Books
(list of publications)

References

(biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ule, Wilhelm Academic staff of the University of Rostock German geographers People from Halle (Saale) 1861 births 1940 deaths