Christian Doppler

Christian Doppler
Born	29 November 1803(1803-11-29) Salzburg, Austria
Died	17 March 1853(1853-03-17) (aged 49) Venice, Italy
Nationality	Austrian
Institutions	Prague Polytechnic University of Vienna
Known for	Doppler effect

Christian Andreas Doppler (pronounced [ˈkʁɪsti̯aːn ˈdɔplɐ]) (29 November 1803 – 17 March 1853) was an Austrian mathematician and physicist.

Life and work

Christian Doppler was raised in Salzburg, Austria, the son of a stonemason. Doppler could not work in his father's business because of his generally weak physical condition. After completing high school Doppler studied astronomy and mathematics in Vienna and Salzburg and started to work at the Prague Polytechnic (now Czech Technical University), where he was appointed.

House in Prague in which Christian lived from 1843 to 1847

Only a year later, at the age of 39, Doppler published his most notable work, "Über das farbige Licht der Doppelsterne und einiger anderer Gestirne des Himmels" (On the coloured light of the binary stars and some other stars of the heavens). There is a facsimile edition with an English translation by Alec Eden.^[1] In this work, Doppler postulated his principle (later coined the Doppler effect) that the observed frequency of a wave depends on the relative speed of the source and the observer, and he tried to use this concept for explaining the colour of binary stars. The Doppler effect of sound was verified by Buys Ballot in 1845. In Doppler's time in Prague as a professor he published over 50 articles on mathematics, physics and astronomy. In 1847 he left Prague for the professorship of mathematics, physics, and mechanics at the Academy of Mines and Forests in Schemnitz (Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia), and in 1849 he moved to Vienna.^[2]

Doppler's research in Prague was interrupted by the revolutionary incidents of March 1848, when he fled to Vienna. There he was appointed head of the Institute for Experimental Physics at the University of Vienna in 1850. During his time there, Doppler, along with Franz Unger, played an influential role in the development of young Gregor Mendel, known as the founding father of genetics, who was a student at the University of Vienna from 1851 to 1853.

Doppler died on 17 March 1853 at age 49 from a pulmonary disease in Venice (also at that time part of the Austrian Empire). His tomb is just inside the entrance of the Venetian island cemetery of San Michele.^[3]

Full name

Some confusion exists about Doppler's full name. Doppler referred to himself as Christian Doppler. The records of his birth and baptism stated Christian Andreas Doppler. Forty years after Doppler's death the misnomer Johann Christian Doppler was introduced by the astronomer Julius Scheiner. Scheiner's mistake has since been copied by many.^[1]

See also

• List of Austrian scientists
• List of Austrians
• List of minor planets named after people

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Eden, Alec (1992). The search for Christian Doppler. Wien: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0387823670 
2. ^ http://www.whonamedit.com/doctor.cfm/3039.html
3. ^ Štoll, Ivan (1992). "Christian Doppler — Man, Work and Message". The Phenomenon of Doppler. Prague: The Czech National University. pp. 28. 

Further reading

• Alec Eden: Christian Doppler: Leben und Werk. Salzburg: Landespressebureau, 1988. ISBN 3-85015-069-0
• Christian Doppler (1803–1853). Wien: Böhlau, 1992.
  • Bd. 1: ISBN 3-205-05483-0
    • 1. Teil: Helmuth Grössing (unter Mitarbeit von B. Reischl): Wissenschaft, Leben, Umwelt, Gesellschaft;
    • 2. Teil: Karl Kadletz (unter Mitarbeit von Peter Schuster und Ildikó Cazan-Simányi) Quellenanhang.
  • Bd. 2: ISBN 3-205-05508-X
    • 3. Teil: Peter Schuster: Das Werk.
• Schuster, Peter M. (2005). Moving the Stars — Christian Doppler: His Life, His Works and Principle, and the World After. Pöllauberg, Austria: Living Edition. ISBN 3-901585-05-2 (translated by Lily Wilmes; Webpage of the author)
• Hoffmann, Robert (2007). The Life of an (almost) Unknown Person. Christian Doppler’s Youth in Salzburg and Vienna. In: Ewald Hiebl, Maurizio Musso (Eds.), Christian Doppler – Life and Work. Principle an Applications. Proceedings of the Commemorative Symposia in Salzburg, Salzburg, Prague, Vienna, Venice. Pöllauberg/Austria, Hainault/UK, Atascadero/US, pages 33 – 46.

External links

• O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Christian Doppler", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews, http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Doppler.html .

Persondata
Name	Doppler, Christian
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	29 November 1803
Place of birth	Salzburg, Austria
Date of death	17 March 1853
Place of death	Venice, Italy