Palm Heinrich Ludwig von Boguslawski

Palm (or Palon) Heinrich Ludwig (Pruß) von Boguslawski (7 September 1789 – 5 June 1851) was a German astronomy professor and observatory director in Breslau (Wrocław).

Early life

A native of Magdeburg, Boguslawski met Johann Elert Bode (1747–1826), who was an observatory director in Berlin and published the celestial atlas "Uranographia", at the Prussian Military Academy in Berlin between 1811–12, when Boguslawski did his military service.

Military service

Boguslawski was an artillery officer in the Prussian Army during the French invasion of Russia (1812) led by Napoleon. He retired as "Hauptmann".

Astronomy

After the war, he took up residence on his family's lands outside Breslau. In 1831 he became curator at the observatory in Breslau, and was appointed in 1836 to an honorary professorship at the University of Breslau.

In the night from 20 April to 21 April 1835, Boguslawski detected a comet, estimated its course, and reported it to [http://w3.ub.uu.se/arv/waller/russin_boguslawski.cfm "Herr Geheimer Ober-Regierungs-Rath"] . For this, the comet was named after him.

He also did valuable observations and calculations of Biela's, Encke's and Halley's Comets, published contributions in astronomy magazines and participated in the publication of the magazine "Uranus" from 1842 to his death in 1851.

At the university, the mechanics [http://www.dpg-tagung.de/program/regensburg/gp5.pdf] Ernst Carl Gottfried Wilhelm (1794-1843) and Ernst Karl Gustav Theodor Pinzger (1819-1882) supported him. They also were active for the "Schlesische Gesellschaft für vaterländische Kultur".

Honours

Boguslawski has the comet he discovered named after him, as well as a lunar crater. Further, he received the first gold comet medal for his work in identifying the Boguslawsky comet.

External links

* [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/112521312/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 Schreiben des Herrn Hauptmanns v. Boguslawski, Conservators der Breslauer Sternwarte, an den Herausgeber "Der Comet muß etwa einen Tag vorher den O. passirt haben ... Der Comet wird hiernach, wie es scheint, gegen den 16ten Nov. durch das Perihel gehen"] de icon
* [http://susi.e-technik.uni-ulm.de:8080/Meyers2/seite/werk/meyers/band/3/seite/0130/meyers_b3_s0130.html Meyers Konversationslexikon] de icon
* [http://www.math.uni-hamburg.de/spag/ign/gauss/gaussreg.htm#B Gauß-Register: Boguslawski, Palm Heinrich Ludwig Pruss von (1789-1851)] de icon
* [http://www.dpg-tagung.de/program/regensburg/gp5.pdf Handwerkergelehrte und Instrumentenmacher] de icon
* [http://cometography.com/biographies/bio_b.html Who's Who in Comet History: Boguslawski, Palm Heinrich Ludwig von (1789-1851)]
* [http://w3.ub.uu.se/arv/waller/russin_boguslawski.cfm Original report of comet in German, Biography in Swedish]

Persondata
NAME=Boguslawski, Palm Heinrich Ludwig von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Boguslawski, Palm Heinrich Ludwig von
SHORT DESCRIPTION=astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH=7 September 1789
PLACE OF BIRTH=Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH=5 June 1851
PLACE OF DEATH=Breslau