Item 64: Letter from Johann Franz Encke to Unknown [German Language], 1839 July 4
Item — Box: 2, Folder: 64
Dates
- Created: 1839 July 4
Creator
- Encke, Johann Franz, 1791-1865 (Person)
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Letter
Condition Note:
Good
Measurements:
9 in x 7 ⅛ in
Description:
The following item is a letter from Encke, Johann Franz, 1791-1865, a German astronomer, dated July 4, 1839, sent to “Your Excellency”, possibly Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, 1770-1840, or an official with relation to the Prussian staff college. Encke was an astronomer known for measuring the distance from the Earth to the Sun, studied the orbits of comets, and studied Saturn. Encke went to school at the Johanneum Gymnasium and studied math and astronomy at the University of Göttingen. He enlisted and fought in the Hanseatic Legion and once out of the Prussian Army, investigated the Great Comet of 1680. Encke helped identify Comet Encke and measure the distance from the Earth to the Sun, after which he became an observatory director and worked with Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, 1770-1840 to build a new observatory in Berlin. In 1822 he became Chief Editor of the Astronomical Yearbook, which he continued to do until his death in 1865. He studied the rings of Saturn and the Encke Gap was named after him, after which he became a professor at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Encke also has a crater on the moon named after him and an asteroid. In this letter, he is handing over a copy of his 1839 edition of the Astronomical Yearbook to an official with relation to the Prussian staff college or possibly Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, 1770-1840.
Location:
Berlin Observatory, Berlin
Creator
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu