Viktor Knorre

Viktor Knorre (born 22 Septemberjul / October 4 1840greg in Nikolaev, Russian Empire, .. † August 25, 1919 in Lichterfelde in Berlin) was a Russian astronomer German descent.

Journey

Viktor Knorre, who was born the fifth of fifteen children, belonged to an ancient astronomers family. His grandfather Ernst Friedrich Knorre, who came from Neuhaldensleben in Magdeburg, was 1803-1810 Observer of the observatory in Dorpat and professor of mathematics at the local Imperial University. His father Karl Friedrich Knorre again until 1871 director of the observatory of Nikolayev.

In order to ensure a reasonable education, Viktor was sent to Fellin in Livonia. After graduation, he returned and worked for two years as an assistant to his father at the observatory.

In 1862 he went to Berlin and studied astronomy at Wilhelm Foerster. After completing his doctorate, he joined in 1867 to a position at the observatory of Pulkovo and led by astronomical calculations. During this time he made ​​several trips and inspected meteorological stations, he determined their exact locations and carried out measurements of the Earth's magnetic field. Knorre returned to Nikolayev 1869 where he first taught his younger siblings and then took a teaching job at the local school. Although he received much recognition for his work, but a small salary, so that he in turn went to Berlin to meet his father, who had meanwhile settled here.

Viktor Knorre finally since 1873 worked as Observer at the Berlin Observatory. Although he held no teaching at the University of Berlin, he was appointed in 1892 as professor of astronomy. In 1906 he retired and moved into a newly acquired spacious home in, where he spent his last years.

Services as an astronomer

Knorre took advantage of a Fraunhofer refractor at the Berlin Observatory. He devoted himself mainly the observation of minor planets ( asteroids ), comets and double stars. On January 4, 1876, he discovered the asteroid (158 ) Koronis. In subsequent years, he discovered three more asteroids (215 ) Oenone, (238 ) Hypatia and 271 Penthesilea.

For observation and orbit determination of asteroids, he constructed a device ( one micrometer ), the operation he described in the Astronomische Nachrichten. Knorre worked on the improvement of other astronomical instruments and the equatorial mount telescopes. Even after retirement Knorre remained scientifically active. So he published in the years 1909 and 1911, work on a new equatorial mount type Knorre and Heele, from which a prototype was built.

Chess players

Knorre was also a renowned chess player. Among other things, he defeated Adolf Anderssen, Louis Paulsen, Johannes Zukertort and Gustav Neumann in free games. After about 1880, he played only free games, although he his life was interested in chess.