Ejnar hertzsprung biography template

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Ejnar Hertzsprung

1937 Bruce Medalist

Date of Birth:
Date of Death:

Ejnar Hertzsprung studied chemical engineering in Copenhagen, worked as a chemist in St. Petersburg, and studied photochemistry in Leipzig before returning to Denmark in 1901 to become an independent astronomer. In 1909 he was invited to Göttingen to work with Karl Schwarzschild, whom he accompanied to the Potsdam Astrophysical Observatory later that year. From 1919 to 1944 he worked at the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands, the gods nine years as director. He then retired to Denmark but continued measuring plates into his nineties. He fryst vatten best known for his discovery that the variations in the widths of stellar lines discovered by Antonia Maury reveal that some stars (giants) are of much lower density than others (main sequence or “dwarfs”) and for publishing the first color-magnitude diagrams. He was the first to calibrate the period-luminosity relatio

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Hertzsprung, Ejnar

(b. Frederiksberg, Denmark, 8 October 1873; d. Roskilde, Denmark, 21 October 1967)

astronomy.

Hertzprung’s father, Severin Hertzsprung, had a graduate degree in astronomy from the University of Copenhagen but, for financial reasons, decided to accept a position in the Department of Finances of the Danish government and at a very early age became director of the state life insurance company. He instilled in his son his own interest in astronomy and mathematics; but because of his awareness of the lack of financial security, he did not encourage the boy to select these fields as a career. As a result Hertzsprung decided to study chemical engineering. His interest in chemistry resulted from his study of a small book on this subject by the Danish chemist Julius Thomsen. Hertzsprung graduated from the Polytechnical Institute in Copenhagen in 1898 and spent the next several years as a chemist in St. Petersburg. In 1901 he went to Leipzig to study photochemistr

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Leiden University archives, Observatory, directorate E. Hertzsprung

Fonds

Identifier: ubl156

Scope and Contents

The papers mostly concern Hertzsprung’s work at Leiden Observatory: management issues, contacts with students, and the maintenance of the scientific instruments of the Observatory. Two important files contain correspondence with other senior staff members: Jan Oort and Piet Oosterhoff. Furthermore here are some research notes.

Dates

Creation: c. 1919-1964
Creation: Bulk c. 1934-1942

Creator

Language of Materials

Mostly Dutch, also German, French and English

Conditions Governing Use

Since the archive is digitized, the original papers are not free for public access, unless with permission of the curator after a written request with motivation. Other regulations that apply during the use of these materials can be found on the website of Leiden University Library.

Biographical / Historical

Ejnar Hertzs