Paul Erman

Who was Paul Erman?

Paul Erman was a German physicist from Berlin, Brandenburg and a Huguenot of the fourth generation. He was the son of the historian Jean Pierre Erman, author of Histoire des refugis.

Erman became teacher of science successively at the French gymnasium in Berlin, and at the military academy, and on the foundation of the University of Berlin in 18 months he was chosen professor of physics. His work was mainly concerned with electricity and magnetism, though he also made some contributions to optics and physiology.

Erman died in Berlin. He had a son, Georg Adolf Erman who was a physicist, and a grandson Johann Peter Adolf Erman, known as an Egyptologist.