Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker
Encyclopedia
Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker (28 May 1788 – 21 December 1862) was a German
astronomer
. In German, his name is spelt Karl Ludwig Christian Rümker; he was also known as Charles Rümker, Charles Rumker, Charles Luis Rumker, Christian Carl Ludwig Rümker and Dr. Charles Stargard Rumker.
, in Mecklenburg
, Germany, the son of J. F. Rümker, a court-councillor. He showed an aptitude for mathematics and studied at the Builders' Academy, Berlin
, graduating in 1807 as a master builder. Instead of a career in building, he taught mathematics in Hamburg
until 1809 when he went to England
.
Rümker served as a midshipman
in the British East India Company
and then in the British
merchant navy from 1811 until 1817, where he met Austria
n astronomer Baron Franz-Xaver de Zach, who influenced Rümker to study astronomy. Rümker was director of the school of navigation at Hamburg from 1819 until 1820.
as astronomer at the observatory built at Parramatta
by Sir Thomas Brisbane. James Dunlop
was second assistant. Rümker was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
together with £100, for his re-discovery of Comet Encke
on 2 June 1822 and also received the gold medal of the Institut de France
. In June 1823 having fallen out with Brisbane he left the observatory. He had been granted 1000 acres (4 km²) of land on the west side of the Nepean River
on the assurance that he would devote his time to scientific pursuits. Brisbane in a dispatch to Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst
in November 1823 requested that the grant should not be confirmed beyond 300 acres (1.2 km²) because Rümker had "completely broken" his promise. Bathurst, however, refused Brisbane's request, realizing that this would be a case of one man's word against another's if it were further investigated. After Brisbane's departure Rümker was placed in charge of the observatory by the government in May 1826, Rümker being the first to hold the title of government astronomer. It was intended that Rümker should measure the arc of the meridian; however it would have been necessary to obtain instruments from London and Rümker left the colony in January 1829. The results of his observations at Parramatta were published in Part III of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1829 and in the Royal Astronomical Society's Memoirs, Vol. III. Rümker also contributed an article to the Geographical Memoirs of New South Wales, edited by Barron Field
, the first collection of scientific papers published in Australia.
While in England, Rümker quarelled with James South
, president of the Royal Astronomical Society
, who dismissed Rümker from British government service.
in 1830 and took charge of the new Hamburg Observatory after the death of Johann Georg Repsold
in 1830. His chief work was concerned with the cataloging of stars: a preliminary catalogue of the stars of the Southern Hemisphere
was published in 1832 at Hamburg, and from 1846-1852 he published his great catalogue of 12,000 stars. He served as the director of Hamburger Sternwarte then located at Stadtwall and funded by the city of Hamburg as Christian Karl Ludwig Rümker from 1833 to 1857.
, Portugal
, where he died in 1862. His son Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Rümker
, born in 1832, at Hamburg, was also an astronomer. His son took over as director of Hamburger Sternwarte in 1857, where he served until his death in 1900. The Hamburger Sternwarte at Millerntor
site was demolished when the observatory moved to Bergedorf under the direction of Richard Schorr
for better astronomical seeing (the telescopes were moved), and the area eventually became the location the hamburgmuseum
. From 1901-1922 the new Hamburg observatory at Bergedorf renewed the observation of Rümker's catalog with its 12000 star. The catalog Carl Rümkers Hamburger Sternverzeichnis 1845.0 was published in 1923.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
. In German, his name is spelt Karl Ludwig Christian Rümker; he was also known as Charles Rümker, Charles Rumker, Charles Luis Rumker, Christian Carl Ludwig Rümker and Dr. Charles Stargard Rumker.
Early life (1788-1821)
Rümker was born in Burg StargardBurg Stargard
Burg Stargard is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated southeast of Neubrandenburg.Burg Stargard is a small town in Mecklenburg Strelitz...
, in Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, Germany, the son of J. F. Rümker, a court-councillor. He showed an aptitude for mathematics and studied at the Builders' Academy, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, graduating in 1807 as a master builder. Instead of a career in building, he taught mathematics in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
until 1809 when he went to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Rümker served as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
and then in the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
merchant navy from 1811 until 1817, where he met Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n astronomer Baron Franz-Xaver de Zach, who influenced Rümker to study astronomy. Rümker was director of the school of navigation at Hamburg from 1819 until 1820.
Life in New South Wales (Australia) (1821-1830)
In 1821 Rümker went to New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
as astronomer at the observatory built at Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
by Sir Thomas Brisbane. James Dunlop
James Dunlop
James Dunlop was an astronomer's assistant who was hired by Sir Thomas Brisbane to work at his private observatory, once located at Paramatta , New South Wales, about twenty-three kilometres west of Sydney, Australia during the 1820s and 1830s...
was second assistant. Rümker was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
together with £100, for his re-discovery of Comet Encke
Comet Encke
Comet Encke or Encke's Comet is a periodic comet that completes an orbit of the Sun once every three years — the shortest period of any known comet...
on 2 June 1822 and also received the gold medal of the Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
. In June 1823 having fallen out with Brisbane he left the observatory. He had been granted 1000 acres (4 km²) of land on the west side of the Nepean River
Nepean River
The Nepean River is a river in the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia.The headwaters of the Nepean River rise near Robertson, about 100 kilometres south of Sydney and about 15 kilometres from the coast. The river flows north in an unpopulated water catchment area into Nepean Dam, which...
on the assurance that he would devote his time to scientific pursuits. Brisbane in a dispatch to Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst
Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst
Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst KG PC was a British politician.-Background and education:Lord Bathurst was the elder son of Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, by his wife Tryphena, daughter of Thomas Scawen...
in November 1823 requested that the grant should not be confirmed beyond 300 acres (1.2 km²) because Rümker had "completely broken" his promise. Bathurst, however, refused Brisbane's request, realizing that this would be a case of one man's word against another's if it were further investigated. After Brisbane's departure Rümker was placed in charge of the observatory by the government in May 1826, Rümker being the first to hold the title of government astronomer. It was intended that Rümker should measure the arc of the meridian; however it would have been necessary to obtain instruments from London and Rümker left the colony in January 1829. The results of his observations at Parramatta were published in Part III of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1829 and in the Royal Astronomical Society's Memoirs, Vol. III. Rümker also contributed an article to the Geographical Memoirs of New South Wales, edited by Barron Field
Barron Field (author)
Barron Field was an English-born Australian judge and poet.-Early life:Field was the second son of Henry Field, a London surgeon and apothecary, and Esther, née Barron. Barron Field was educated as a barrister and was called to the Inner Temple on 25 June 1814...
, the first collection of scientific papers published in Australia.
While in England, Rümker quarelled with James South
James South
Sir James South was a British astronomer.He helped found the Astronomical Society of London, and it was under his name as president of the society from 1831 to 1832 that a petition was successfully submitted to obtain a royal charter in 1831, whereupon it became the Royal Astronomical...
, president of the Royal Astronomical Society
Royal Astronomical Society
The Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
, who dismissed Rümker from British government service.
Life in Hamburg, Germany (1830-1857)
Rümker returned to EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1830 and took charge of the new Hamburg Observatory after the death of Johann Georg Repsold
Johann Georg Repsold
Johann Georg Repsold was a German astronomer.He joined the fire brigade of Hamburg in 1799. In 1802 he began building a private observatory, and collaborated in astronomical observations with Heinrich Christian Schumacher. However the observatory was destroyed in the Napoleonic Wars in 1811...
in 1830. His chief work was concerned with the cataloging of stars: a preliminary catalogue of the stars of the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
was published in 1832 at Hamburg, and from 1846-1852 he published his great catalogue of 12,000 stars. He served as the director of Hamburger Sternwarte then located at Stadtwall and funded by the city of Hamburg as Christian Karl Ludwig Rümker from 1833 to 1857.
Final years & Legacy (1857-1862)
In 1857 Rümker went to reside at LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, where he died in 1862. His son Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Rümker
Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Rümker
Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Rümker was a German astronomerBorn at Hamburg, he was the son of Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker. He was astronomer at the observatory at Durham, England, from 1853 to 1856. He then became assistant at the Hamburger Sternwarte , then located at Stadtwall, and in 1862 was...
, born in 1832, at Hamburg, was also an astronomer. His son took over as director of Hamburger Sternwarte in 1857, where he served until his death in 1900. The Hamburger Sternwarte at Millerntor
Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory
Hamburger Sternwarte is an astronomical observatory located in the Bergedorf borough of the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. It is owned and operated by the University of Hamburg, Germany since 1968, although it was founded in 1825 by the City of Hamburg and moved to its present location in...
site was demolished when the observatory moved to Bergedorf under the direction of Richard Schorr
Richard Schorr
Richard Reinhard Emil Schorr , was an astronomer. The lunar crater Schorr and the asteroid 1235 Schorria are named after him....
for better astronomical seeing (the telescopes were moved), and the area eventually became the location the hamburgmuseum
Hamburgmuseum
The hamburgmuseum , also known as Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte , is a history museum located in the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. The museum was established at its current location in 1922, although its parent organization was started in 1839. The museum was named hamburgmuseum in 2006...
. From 1901-1922 the new Hamburg observatory at Bergedorf renewed the observation of Rümker's catalog with its 12000 star. The catalog Carl Rümkers Hamburger Sternverzeichnis 1845.0 was published in 1923.
Notable writings
- Preliminary catalogue of fixed stars, etc. (1832)
- Handbuch der Schiffahrtskunde (1857)
- Mittlere Örter von 12.000 Fixsternen (1843–1852, 4 parts; new series 1857, 2 parts)
- Längenbestimmung durch den Mond (1849).