Hermann von Helmholtz
German physicist and physiologist (1821–1894)
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" from 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Association, the largest German association of research institutions, was named in his honour.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Hermann von Helmholtz (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born Aug 31, 1821, died Sep 8, 1894.1
About
Helmholtz is remembered for at the time groundbreaking work in natural science linking theory and practical research work. He was given the von in his surname by Emperor William II.
In the fields of physiology and psychology, Helmholtz is known for his mathematics concerning the eye, theories of vision, ideas on the visual perception of space, colour vision research, the sensation of tone, perceptions of sound, and empiricism in the physiology of perception. In physics, he is known for his theories on the conservation of energy and on the electrical double layer, work in electrodynamics, chemical thermodynamics, and on a mechanical foundation of thermodynamics. Although credit is shared with Julius von Mayer, James Joule, and Daniel Bernoulli—among others—for the energy conservation principles that eventually led to the first law of thermodynamics, he is credited with the first formulation of the energy conservation principle in its maximally general form.
As a philosopher, he is known for his philosophy of science, ideas on the relation between the laws of perception and the laws of nature, the science of aesthetics, and ideas on the civilizing power of science. By the late nineteenth century, Helmholtz's development of a broadly Kantian methodology, including the a priori determination of the manifold of possible orientations in perceptual space, had inspired new readings of Kant and contributed to the late modern neo-Kantianism movement in philosophy.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hermann von Helmholtz, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2
Companies
- Deutsche Physikalische GesellschaftChair 1878 to 189516
Early life and education
- 1837Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Gymnasium3
- 1838 to 1843Pépinière3
- Date not recordedFrederick William University Berlin3
Early years
Helmholtz was born in Potsdam, the son of the local gymnasium headmaster, Ferdinand Helmholtz, who had studied classical philology and philosophy, and who was a close friend of the publisher and philosopher Immanuel Hermann Fichte. Helmholtz's work was influenced by the philosophy of Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Immanuel Kant. He tried to trace their theories in empirical matters like physiology.
As a young man, Helmholtz was interested in natural science, but his father wanted him to study medicine. Helmholtz earned a medical doctorate at Medizinisch-chirurgisches Friedrich-Wilhelm-Institute in 1842 and served a one-year internship at the Charité hospital (because there was financial support for medical students).
Trained primarily in physiology, Helmholtz wrote on many other topics, ranging from theoretical physics to the age of the Earth, and to the origin of the Solar System.
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University posts
Helmholtz's first academic position was as a teacher of anatomy at the Academy of Arts in Berlin in 1848. He then moved to take a post of associate professor of physiology at the Prussian University of Königsberg, where he was appointed in 1849. In 1855 he accepted a full professorship of anatomy and physiology at the University of Bonn. He was not particularly happy in Bonn, however, and three years later he transferred to the University of Heidelberg, in Baden, where he served as professor of physiology. In 1871 he accepted his final university position, as professor of physics at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hermann von Helmholtz (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: anatomist, music theorist, scientist, ophthalmologist, naturalist, psychologist, pathologist, philosopher.7
- 1887 to 1894Chair, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt6
- 1882 to 1894Worked at Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt4
- 1878 to 1894Chairperson, Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft5
- 1877 to 1878Rector, Frederick William University Berlin5
- 1871 to 1894Worked at Frederick William University Berlin4
- 1858 to 1871Worked at Heidelberg University4
- 1855 to 1858Worked at University of Bonn4
- 1849 to 1855Worked at University of Königsberg4
- 1843 to 1848Military physician, Prussian Army4
- 1842 to 1843Worked at Charité4
Known for: Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, Helmholtz pitch notation, Helmholtz decomposition, conservation of energy, Helmholtz free energy, specific Helmholtz energy, Helmholtz–Kohlrausch effect, Helmholtz resonance, Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism, Helmholtz equation.8
Personal life
Awards
- 1888Albert Medal13 15
- 1881Commander of the Legion of Honour13
- 1881Faraday Lectureship Prize13
- 1873Copley Medal13 14
- 1873Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order13
- 1868Matteucci Medal13
- 1866Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art13
- 1864Croonian Medal and Lecture13
- 1862honorary member of the Physics Association (Frankfurt am Main, Germany)13
- 1860Foreign Member of the Royal Society13
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
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- 2WikipediaHermann von Helmholtz on Wikipedia
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- 14Wikidataaward, as reported
- 15Wikidataaward, as reported
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- 17Wikimedia CommonsHermann von Helmholtz photo by unknown, Public domain