Wilhelm Julius Foerster (16 December 1832 – 18 January 1921) was a German

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

. His name can also be written Förster, but is usually written "Foerster" even in most German sources where 'ö' is otherwise used in the text.

Biography

A native of Grünberg,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, he studied at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

and

Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, and worked as

Johann Franz Encke Johann Franz Encke (; 23 September 179126 August 1865) was a German astronomer. Among his activities, he worked on the calculation of the periods of comets and asteroids, measured the distance from the Earth to the Sun, and made observations ...

's assistant. In 1860, he co-discovered

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

62 Erato 62 Erato () is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It is a member of the Themis family of asteroids that share similar properties and orbital characteristics. Photometry (astronomy), Ph ...

with Oskar Lesser, the first co-discovery on record. He became professor of astronomy at the

in 1863. After Encke's death in 1865, he became director of the

Berlin Observatory The Berlin Observatory (Berliner Sternwarte) is a German astronomical institution with a series of observatories and related organizations in and around the city of Berlin in Germany, starting from the 18th century. It has its origins in 1700 w ...

and served in this position until 1904. Foerster also taught the popular geologist Alfred Wegener astronomy. In 1868 he was appointed director of the commission established by the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

, and continued from 1871 by the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, for the determination of standards of measurement. In this capacity, he superintended the reorganization of the German system of weights and measures on the metric basis. He was elected president of the

International Bureau of Weights and Measures The International Bureau of Weights and Measures (, BIPM) is an List of intergovernmental organizations, intergovernmental organisation, through which its 64 member-states act on measurement standards in areas including chemistry, ionising radi ...

in 1891. In 1888–89, Foerster co-founded the

Urania Urania ( ; ; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and astrology. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass. T ...

in Berlin, an institution for astronomical education that reached out to the wider public. Foerster continued to be interested in popularizing the natural sciences. Andreas W. Daum, ''Wissenschaftspopularisierung im 19. Jahrhundert: Bürgerliche Kultur, naturwissenschaftliche Bildung und die deutsche Öffentlichkeit, 1848–1914''. Munich: Oldenbourg, 1998, pp. 178–79, 184, 194, 212–13, 401, 437, 445, 447–48, 452, 486–87, including a short biography. In 1892, he assisted in the founding of the

German Society for Ethical Culture German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...

(GSEC; ), in which

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

also participated. He was also a member of the German Peace Society (), and resisted the rise in nationalism brought about by the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. While he was among the 93 German intellectuals in signing the ''Aufruf an die Kulturwelt'' manifesto in support of the war, Foerster was one of only four intellectuals to sign the ''Aufruf an die Europäer'' counter-manifesto (the others were

, the philosopher

Otto Buek Otto Buek (19 November 1873 – 1966) was a German philosopher and translator born in St. Petersburg. He studied philosophy, chemistry and mathematics at the University of Heidelberg, and obtained his doctorate from the University of Marburg. ...

, and its author, the physiologist

Georg Friedrich Nicolai Georg Friedrich Nicolai (born Lewinstein; 6 February 1874 – 8 October 1964) was a German physiologist. Biography He was born in 1874 in Berlin. He studied at the University of Berlin, and later practiced medicine at the Charité in Berlin. He ...

Legacy

The asteroid 6771 Foerster is named after him, and so is the

Wilhelm-Foerster-Sternwarte The Wilhelm Foerster Observatory in Berlin is a large public observatory which allows visitors to observe the sky through several telescopes. The facility is named after the German astronomer Wilhelm Foerster. Location The listed building is ...

(Wilhelm Foerster Observatory; IAU code 544).

Publications

* ''Populäre Mitteilungen'' (2 vols., 1879 and 1884) * ''Sammlung von Vorträgen und Abhandlungen'' (2 vols., 1887 and 1890) * ''Studien zur Astrometrie'' (1888).

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foerster, Wilhelm Julius 1832 births 1921 deaths People from Zielona Góra Scientists from the Province of Silesia Discoverers of asteroids * 19th-century German astronomers German Peace Society members Recipients of the Lalande Prize Astronomers from the Kingdom of Prussia