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Friedrich Bessel
Mathematician, Astronomer
1784 – 1846
Who was Friedrich Bessel?
Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel was a German astronomer, mathematician. He was the first astronomer to determine the distance from the sun to another star by the method of parallax.
Although he left school at the age of 14, he was awarded a doctorate from the University of Göttingen on the recommendation of fellow mathematician and physicist Carl Gauss coinciding with his January 1810 appointment, at the age of 25, as director of the Königsberg Observatory by King Frederick William III of Prussia.
Bessel won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1829 and 1841. The asteroid 1552 Bessel was named in his honour.
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- Born
- Jul 22, 1784
Minden - Also known as
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel
- Parents
- Spouses
- Children
- Nationality
- Germany
- Kingdom of Prussia
- Profession
- Education
- University of Göttingen
- Employment
- Humboldt University of Berlin
- Lived in
- Minden
- Kingdom of Prussia
- Died
- Mar 17, 1846
Königsberg
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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"Friedrich Bessel." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/friedrich_bessel>.
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