Joseph Johann Littrow

Infobox_Scientist
name = Joseph von Littrow

|300px
image_width = 300px
caption = Portrait of Joseph Johann von Littrow from his 1836 book "Physische Astronomie" (Physical Astronomy).
birth_date = birth date|1781|3|13|mf=y
birth_place = Horšovský Týn, Bohemia
residence =
nationality = n
death_date = death date and age|1840|11|30|1781|3|13|mf=y
death_place = Vienna, Austria
field = Astronomer
work_institution = Krakau University
Kazan University
Vienna Observatory
Buda Observatory
University of Vienna
alma_mater = Charles University
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students = Nikolai Brashman
Ivan Simonov
known_for = Littrow projection
prizes =
footnotes = Note that he was the father of Karl L. Littrow.

Joseph Johann von Littrow (March 13 1781 – November 30 1840) was an Austrian astronomer born of an aristocratic family. In 1837, he was ennobled with the title Joseph Johann Edler von Littrow. He was the father of Karl Ludwig Edler von Littrow and the mentor of the mathematician Nikolai Brashman [MathGenealogy|id=12540] . His work took him to Russia for a time, which is where his son who succeeded him was born.

He became director of the Vienna Observatory in 1819. He served in this position until his death in until 1840. He created the only conformal retroazimuthal map projection, which is known as the Littrow projection.

Von Littrow is often associated with a proposal to dig a large circular canal in the Sahara desert and fill it with burning kerosene, thus communicating the fact of human intelligence to aliens who may be observing earth. However, Von Littrow's connection with this scheme may be apocryphal [ [http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/L/Littrow.html "The Internet Encyclopedia of Science"] ] .

The Littrow crater on the Moon was named in his honour.

Timeline

* 1799 Entered Charles University
* 1802 Graduated in jurisprudence and theology
* 1803 Became the private tutor of count J. Renard in Silesia
* 1807 Appointed professor of astronomy Krakau University
* 1810 Established the observatory at Kazan University
* 1816 Became co-director of the observatory at Ofen (Buda)
* 1819 Appointed professor of astronomy at the University of Vienna and became director of the first university observatory Vienna, which he reorganized completely

References

Persondata
NAME= Littrow, Joseph Johann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Littrow, Joseph von
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Austrian Astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH= March 13 1781
PLACE OF BIRTH= Horšovský Týn, Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH= November 30 1840
PLACE OF DEATH= Vienna, Austria