Kasimir Graff

Romuald Kasimir Graff ( born February 7, 1878 in Próchnowo, Circle Kolmar Posen, Province of Posen, † February 15, 1950 in Breitenfort in Vienna ) was a German -Austrian astronomer.

Life

As the son of the landowner Stanislaus Graff and his wife Salomea born Hefft Graff attended the Friedrich -Wilhelms -Gymnasium ( Posen). From 1897 he studied astronomy, physics, mathematics and geodesy at the Friedrich- Wilhelms- University of Berlin under Wilhelm Foerster, Julius Scheiner and Julius Bauschinger. In 1901 he received a doctorate in phil .. In the same year he went as an assistant at the Hamburg Observatory. She was at that time at Holsten Wall and was under the direction of Richard Schorr. Since 1909, Observer at the new Observatory in Bergedorf, he became in 1917 a professor at the University of Hamburg. 1906/1907 he took part in a study trip to Russia and 1914 at a solar eclipse expedition to the Crimea. During the First World War, he was employed as a surveyor and cartographer.

In 1928 he was appointed the University of Vienna on their Chair of Practical Astronomy. As Director of the University Observatory Vienna, he was the successor of Joseph of Hepperger. He enforce some improvements to the observatory equipment, so the incorporation of a large lift, with the observation of the large refractor was relieved.

After the Anschluss Graff was suspended immediately in April 1938 under the accusation of embezzlement advanced and eventually forced to retire for political reasons. The director of the observatory was first adopted provisionally by Adalbert Prey, then Chair of Theoretical Astronomy. On September 1, 1940 then took over Bruno Thüringstrasse Observatories line and chair, a supporter of the so-called "German physics " and friend of the at that time the German astronomy dominant Nazi functionary science Wilhelm leader. The actual inauguration took place on January 20, 1941, but the surrender of the premises of the Director -Thuringian could prevail only on May 9, 1941, an eviction action against Graff. However Thüringstrasse could develop any lasting effect, since he was already convened on 15 March 1943, military service and despite numerous requests do not reach Unabkömmlichkeitsstellung until the war ended. The functions again took over the now 70 -year-old Prey. After 1945, Graff was reinstated as director, after which he immediately moved into the rooms of the director again and the legacies of his predecessor cleaned out, which he carefully inventoried, from the "Skull oil painting " to the " creamer with leap". He was now but even already on the 70 to and therefore went on 1 October 1948 in retirement.

Graff was representative even then was a dwindling generation of visual observer who accumulate large observer diligence, ability to accurate brightness and color assessment talented and with the help of his fictional supporting instruments (star and space photometer, circular wedge photometer, Sternkolorimeter ) a rich trove of meticulously recorded observations could, of course, with their evaluation and summary sometimes took a back seat.

Graff was from 1929 a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, he was also a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Agency for International Geodesy.

The lunar crater Graff is named after him; furthermore an alley was in Breitenfort in Vienna, where the astronomer had lived with his wife, named in honor of Graff.

Graff was married his first wife in Berlin in 1905 with Frida Hoffmann ( 1876-1939 ), 1943, he married Maria Frank (* 1904). Both marriages were childless. The 1927 discovered asteroid ( 933 ) Susi, who was named in honor of the wife of Graff suggests another name of the first wife.

Writings (selection )

• Plan determination of geographical coordinates from astronomical observations ( Berlin 1914)
• With Hermann Lambrecht: layout Astrophysics ( Leipzig 1928)
• Neureduktion of Holetscheks fog catalog (Vienna 1948)