Otto Struve
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Otto Struve (August 12, 1897 – April 6, 1963) was a Russian-American astronomer of
Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
origins. In Russian, his name is sometimes given as Otto Lyudvigovich Struve (Отто Людвигович Струве); however, he spent most of his life and his entire scientific career in the United States. Otto was the descendant of famous astronomers of the Struve family; he was the son of
Ludwig Struve Gustav Wilhelm Ludwig von Struve (November 1, 1858 – November 4, 1920) was a Baltic German astronomer, part of the famous Baltic German Struve family. In Russian, his name is sometimes given as Lyudvig Ottovich Struve (Людвиг Оттов ...
, grandson of
Otto Wilhelm von Struve Otto Wilhelm von Struve (May 7, 1819 (Julian calendar: April 25) – April 14, 1905) was a Russian astronomer of Baltic German origins. In Russian, his name is normally given as Otto Vasil'evich Struve (Отто Васильевич Струв ...
and great-grandson of
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (russian: link=no, Василий Яковлевич Струве, trans. ''Vasily Yakovlevich Struve''; 15 April 1793 – ) was a Baltic German astronomer and geodesist from the famous Struve family. He is bes ...
. He was also the nephew of Karl Hermann Struve. With more than 900 journal articles and books, Struve was one of the most distinguished and prolific astronomers of the mid-20th century. He served as director of Yerkes, McDonald, Leuschner and National Radio Astronomy Observatories and is credited with raising worldwide prestige and building schools of talented scientists at Yerkes and McDonald observatories. In particular, he hired Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and
Gerhard Herzberg Gerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg, (; December 25, 1904 – March 3, 1999) was a German-Canadian pioneering physicist and physical chemist, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971, "for his contributions to the knowledge o ...
who later became
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winners. Struve's research was mostly focused on
binary Binary may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two digits (0 and 1) * Binary function, a function that takes two arguments * Binary operation, a mathematical operation that ta ...
and
variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are classified as ...
s, stellar rotation and
interstellar matter In astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter and radiation that exist in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as dust and cosmic rays. It fills interstellar ...
. He was one of the few eminent astronomers in the pre-Space Age era to publicly express a belief that
extraterrestrial intelligence Extraterrestrial intelligence (often abbreviated ETI) refers to hypothetical intelligent extraterrestrial life. The question of whether other inhabited worlds might exist has been debated since ancient times. The modern form of the concept emerged ...
was abundant, and so was an early advocate of the search for extraterrestrial life.


Early years in Russia

Struve was born in 1897 in
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Sloboda Ukraine Sloboda Ukraine (literally: Borderland of free frontier guards; uk, Слобідська Україна, Slobidska Ukraina), or Slobozhanshchyna ( uk, Слобожанщина, Slobozhanshchyna, ), is a historical region, now located in Northeas ...
, then
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(now Ukraine), as the first child of Ludwig Struve and Elizaveta Khrystoforovna Struve (1874–1964). His father was a member of the extensive political and scientific Struve family of Baltic Germans who were prominent in 19th-century Russia. His astronomy experience started early: from the age of eight, he was accompanying father in the telescope tower and from 10 carried out some minor observations, despite his fear of the dark spaces. After having received home education, at the age of 12, Struve started attending a school in Kharkiv and showed mathematical talents. Otto was the first child of the Struve family in Russia who attended a Russian-speaking rather than German-speaking school, and was bilingual in German and Russian. After graduating in 1914, he continued his astronomy work. In June 1914, Struve took part in preparations for observation of a total solar eclipse (August 21, 1914) and later used that experience and results for his master's degree work defended in 1919 at Kharkiv University.Balyshev Marat. Otto Ludwigovich Struve (1897–1963).- Moscow: Nauka, 2008. – 526 p. Struve entered the Kharkiv University in 1915, at the time of political unrest and wars in Russia. In the beginning of 1916, just having finished the first semester, he interrupted his studies and enlisted to a military artillery school in St. Petersburg. He passed an accelerated training program, and in February 1917, was sent to the Turkish front. After the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace, separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russian SFSR, Russia and the Central Powers (German Empire, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of ...
was signed, Struve returned to Kharkiv for a year between spring 1918 and spring 1919 and completed a full university course. in June 1919, he received a certificate signed by the rector of Kharkiv University stating that Struve would stay with the university to prepare for professorship at the department of astronomy and geodesics. During that time, Struve also worked at the "workshop school of
precision mechanics Precision mechanics (also "fine mechanics") is an engineering discipline that deals with the design and construction of smaller precision machines, often including measuring and control mechanisms of different kinds. The study may be further defi ...
" and obtained a license of a workshop trainer. The workshop was organized by his father with the goal of creating traditions of astronomy engineers in Russia. Those were non-existent and foreign engineers were personally invited from abroad for high-quality mechanical work.


Moving to the United States

The German origin of Struves and the military history of Otto Struve with the White Russian Army took its toll. To avoid repression by the Bolsheviks, his family had to move from Kharkiv to
Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
which was still under control of the White Army. There, a series of tragedies took away most of the family: the youngest sister Elizabeth drowned, brother Werner died from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, and his father died from a stroke on November 4, 1920. Whereas his mother and sister chose to return to Kharkiv, on November 16–17, 1920, Otto followed the escaping Wrangel's Army. With a military transport, he escaped from Sevastopol to Turkey. He never returned to Russia. He was later invited several times to conferences in the Soviet Union, but for various reasons declined to attend. During the year and a half that Otto spent in exile in
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
and later in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, he became an impoverished refugee, eating at relief agencies and taking any job he could find. For some time, he worked as a woodcutter, residing with fellow Russian officers, often 6 people in a tent. One night, a neighboring tent was hit by lightning, killing everyone inside. Struve wrote to his uncle Hermann Struve in Germany for assistance, without knowing that his uncle had died a few months earlier, on August 12, 1920. However, the widow of Hermann, Eva Struve, contacted Paul Guthnick, her late husband's successor at the Berlin-Babelsberg Observatory. Germany itself was suffering after the wars, and there was little chance to obtain a position for a Russian there. Therefore, Guthnick wrote, on December 25, 1920, to the director of
Yerkes Observatory Yerkes Observatory ( ) is an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The observatory was operated by the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from its founding in 1897 to 2018. Owne ...
in
Williams Bay, Wisconsin Williams Bay is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of three municipalities on Geneva Lake. The population was 2,564 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History The village ...
, Edwin B. Frost asking a position for Struve. He received a reply on January 27, 1921, where Frost promised to do his best. On March 2, 1921, Frost wrote to Struve, offering him a position at Yerkes. Given his situation in Turkey, it was a lucky chance that Struve received that letter. On March 11, Struve sent a reply, thanking Frost for the offer and accepting it. The letter was formally written in English but with German grammar, revealing the poor English proficiency of Struve (when they later met in US, they spoke in German). Struve also acknowledged that he had no experience in spectral astrophysics. Nevertheless, when applying for his position, Frost mentioned that "I am perfectly willing to take him on his lineage. We regard Otto Struve as a first-class spectroscopist and astrophysicist", and that his degree in Kharkiv was equivalent to a doctoral degree (which Struve never claimed and which was hardly so). It took several months to arrange for travel documents and funding. In late August 1921, Struve received his visa and travel tickets at the US Consulate in Turkey. In September, he boarded ''S.S. Hog Island'' and on October 7, 1921, arrived in New York. He was met there, put on the train, and two days later arrived in Chicago.Osterbrock, p.79


Life in the United States

In late 1921, Struve began working as a stellar spectroscopy assistant at Yerkes with a monthly salary of $75, starting with taking a training course. The observatory was in decline and Struve was alone in class. Three more students joined him in 1922, but only for a summer, and only one of those continued later. There were no lectures, and the students were learning by reading, practice and discussions with professors. Struve proved to be a quick learner and talented scientist. Five months after arrival, he made his first discovery of a pulsating star at
Gamma Ursae Minoris Gamma Ursae Minoris (γ Ursae Minoris, abbreviated Gamma UMi, γ UMi), also named Pherkad , is a star in the northern constellation of Ursa Minor. Together with Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab), it forms the end of the dipper pan of the "Litt ...
and wrote an article on it in September 1922. He was spending more time with observations than anyone at Yerkes, trying every telescope available there, and also making weather observations at Williams Bay. On October 24, 1922, he discovered the
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
991 McDonalda and on November 14 of the same year, another asteroid
992 Swasey 992 Swasey is an asteroid, a minor planet orbiting the Sun. It was discovered by Otto Struve in 1922 at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States. It is named after Ambrose Swasey of the Warner & Swasey Company, which built ...
.List of Asteroids
/ref> As early as December 1923, Struve defended his PhD thesis on short-period spectroscopic
double star In observational astronomy, a double star or visual double is a pair of stars that appear close to each other as viewed from Earth, especially with the aid of optical telescopes. This occurs because the pair either forms a binary star (i.e. a bi ...
s at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. Frost helped him in waiving some required PhD examinations, e.g. in French and German, stating that Struve had done ample reading of scientific literature back in Russia, and was fluent in those languages. Struve then became an instructor (January 1924), assistant professor (1927) and full professor (1932) at the university. His rapid promotion was again assisted by Frost, who also used job-offer letters from other observatories to Struve as proof that Struve was a highly valued scientist who must be kept at the University of Chicago. Between 1932 and 1947, Struve headed Yerkes Observatory; from 1939 to 1950 he acted as a founding director of the
McDonald Observatory McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional faci ...
, and from July 1, 1952, to 1962 served as the first director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
. All those years, he remained in America except for conferences and an 8-month sabbatical leave to the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
between August 1928 and May 1929. He applied for and won a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
to cover his travel to, and living expenses in, Cambridge. While in Cambridge, Struve mostly worked on interstellar matter; he also went on a short trip to
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
to meet
Jan Oort Jan Hendrik Oort ( or ; 28 April 1900 – 5 November 1992) was a Dutch astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of the Milky Way and who was a pioneer in the field of radio astronomy. His ''New York Times'' obituary ...
. Struve was a highly successful administrator who brought fame to Yerkes Observatory and rebuilt the astronomy department of the University of Chicago. In particular, he gradually renewed the scientific staff, dismissing stagnated permanent researchers who were not making significant contributions to science but were occupying the faculty positions. The process was difficult. Struve used to arrive first and leave last from the observatory, taking notes on working hours of staff which he then used in his bureaucratic moves. In replacement, he hired several young and talented researchers who later became world-famous scientists. Those included Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (
Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...
in 1983),
Gerard Kuiper Gerard Peter Kuiper (; ; born Gerrit Pieter Kuiper; 7 December 1905 – 23 December 1973) was a Dutch astronomer, planetary scientist, selenographer, author and professor. He is the eponymous namesake of the Kuiper belt. Kuiper is ...
(protagonist of the famous
Kuiper Prize The Gerard P. Kuiper Prize is awarded annually by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society for outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of planetary science. The prize is named for Gerard P. Kuiper. Kuiper Pr ...
),
Bengt Strömgren Bengt Georg Daniel Strömgren (21 January 1908 – 4 July 1987) was a Danish astronomer and astrophysicist. Life and career Bengt Strömgren was born in Gothenburg. His parents were Hedvig Strömgren (née Lidforss) and Elis Strömgren, wh ...
,
Gerhard Herzberg Gerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg, (; December 25, 1904 – March 3, 1999) was a German-Canadian pioneering physicist and physical chemist, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971, "for his contributions to the knowledge o ...
(
Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
in 1971),
William Wilson Morgan William Wilson Morgan (January 3, 1906 – June 21, 1994) was an American astronomer and astrophysicist. The principal theme in Morgan's work was stellar and galaxy classification. He is also known for helping prove the existence of spiral arms i ...
and Jesse L. Greenstein. After World War II, he also invited a number of leading European researchers, such as
Pol Swings Pol F. Swings (24 September 1906 – 28 October 1983) was a Belgian astrophysicist who was known for his studies of the composition and structure of stars and comets. He used spectroscopy to identify the elements in astronomical bodies, and, ...
,
Jan Oort Jan Hendrik Oort ( or ; 28 April 1900 – 5 November 1992) was a Dutch astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of the Milky Way and who was a pioneer in the field of radio astronomy. His ''New York Times'' obituary ...
(father of
radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation comin ...
),
Marcel Minnaert Marcel Gilles Jozef Minnaert (12 February 1893 – 26 October 1970) was a Dutch astronomer of Belgian origin. He was born in Bruges and died in Utrecht. He is notable for his contributions to astronomy and physics and for a popular book on mete ...
, H. C. van der Hulst and
Albrecht Unsöld Albrecht Otto Johannes Unsöld (20 April 1905 – 23 September 1995) was a German astrophysicist known for his contributions to spectroscopic analysis of stellar atmospheres. Career Albrecht Unsöld was born in Bolheim, Württemberg, Germany. ...
. As most of them were foreigners, their appointment met strong opposition from the science officials for various reasons, such as taking jobs from Americans during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. India-born Chandrasekhar, who spent a month in the Soviet Union in 1934, was also suspected of Communist connections. Struve spent extraordinary efforts defending and justifying each case, and those efforts paid off in building the scientific school at Yerkes and Chicago University. For example, Chandrasekhar spent his entire career as a scientist and administrator at Chicago University, assisting Struve and eventually replacing him as president of the
American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...
(from 1949) and as the Editor in Chief of the ''
Astrophysical Journal ''The Astrophysical Journal'', often abbreviated ''ApJ'' (pronounced "ap jay") in references and speech, is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of astrophysics and astronomy, established in 1895 by American astronomers George Ellery Hale and Jame ...
''.Memoirs, p.366 By the late 1940s, many young researchers whom Struve invited to Yerkes became established scientists. This created friction, as they did not want to follow his every word and were building their own careers. In 1947, Struve resigned as director of Yerkes Observatory and became chairman of the astronomy department at
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...
and director of the
Leuschner Observatory Leuschner Observatory, originally called the Students' Observatory, is an observatory jointly operated by the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University. The observatory was built in 1886 on the Berkeley campus. For many ...
. He was succeeded by Kuiper at Yerkes; their relations were strained at times because of Struve's tendencies to keep control of Yerkes management. There were also rumors of similar strains between Struve and Chandrasekhar, but they were always dispersed by the latter, who insisted that Struve always kept scientific relations with his colleagues above the administrative ones. One reason for Struve's move to Berkeley was his tiredness of bureaucracy. In Berkeley, he was spending more time with personal research and students than ever before.


Research

In 1937, Struve discovered a phenomenon which was later named the Struve-Sahade effect (S-S effect), that is the apparent weakness of lines of the secondary star in massive binary stars when the secondary is receding. This effect poses problems for the accurate reconstruction of the separated primary and secondary spectra. The same year, he discovered interstellar hydrogen in ionized form. By 1959, Struve had published more than 900 journal articles and books, making him one of the most prolific astronomers (probably only
Ernst Öpik Ernst Julius Öpik ( – 10 September 1985) was an Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist who spent the second half of his career (1948–1981) at the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland. Education Öpik was born in Kunda, Estonia, Kunda, Lä ...
published more, with 1,094 itemsMemoirs, p.378). Many of those works aimed at popularizing astronomy. In particular, he published 39 articles (and 10 other items) in ''
Popular Astronomy Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers ...
'' (1923–1951, the journal was discontinued in 1951), 154 in ''
Sky and Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following: *current events in astronomy and space exploration; *events in the amateur astronomy community; *reviews of astronomi ...
'' (1941–1963, the journal was started in 1941) and 83 reviews of books and works by other astronomers. Most of his co-authored scientific articles were co-authored with
Pol Swings Pol F. Swings (24 September 1906 – 28 October 1983) was a Belgian astrophysicist who was known for his studies of the composition and structure of stars and comets. He used spectroscopy to identify the elements in astronomical bodies, and, ...
and were dedicated to spectroscopical studies of
peculiar star In astrophysics, chemically peculiar stars (CP stars) are stars with distinctly unusual metal abundances, at least in their surface layers. Classification Chemically peculiar stars are common among hot main-sequence (hydrogen-burning) stars. Thes ...
s. To explain his interest in this topic, Struve once noted that he had never seen a spectrum of a star where he couldn't find anything to work on. Struve's major discoveries were detection of stellar rotation and dependence of the rotational speed on the stellar spectral class (temperature). They spurred the development of stellar evolution theory. In addition to stellar rotation, he also studied
Stark effect The Stark effect is the shifting and splitting of spectral lines of atoms and molecules due to the presence of an external electric field. It is the electric-field analogue of the Zeeman effect, where a spectral line is split into several compon ...
in stellar spectra, that is broadening of the spectral lines by the electric field in the stellar atmosphere. He also worked on the turbulence of stellar atmosphere and expanding shells around stars. This topic required a larger telescope than those available to him. Therefore, between 1933 and 1939, he built an 82-inch telescope at the McDonald Observatory, which was then the second largest telescope in the world (after the Mt. Wilson telescope).


Views on extraterrestrial life

Struve's belief in the widespread existence of life and intelligence in the Universe stemmed from his studies of slow-rotating stars. Many stars, including the Sun, spin at a much lower rate than was predicted by contemporary theories of early stellar evolution. The reason for this, claimed Struve, was that they were surrounded by planetary systems which had carried away much of the stars' original angular momentum. So numerous were the slow-spinning stars that Struve estimated, in 1960, there might be as many as 50 billion planets in our Galaxy alone. As to how many might harbor intelligent life, he wrote:
An intrinsically improbable event may become highly probable if the number of events is very great. ... is probable that a good many of the billions of planets in the Milky Way support intelligent forms of life. To me this conclusion is of great philosophical interest. I believe that science has reached the point where it is necessary to take into account the action of intelligent beings, in addition to the classical laws of physics.


Personal life, family relations, and late years

Struve had a younger brother and two sisters, all of whom died in Russia in their youth: Werner (1903–1920), Yadviga (1901–1924) and Elizabeth (1911–1920). The last death in 1924 left his mother with no close relatives in Russia. After Struve arranged visa documents, she immigrated to the US in January 1925. Remarkably, his mother began working in astronomy in the US and assisted in processing of the measurements. She lived with Struve even after his marriage.Osterbrock, p. 82 On May 25, 1925, Struve married Mary Martha Lanning, who considered herself a musician but worked as a secretary at Yerkes. Lanning was slightly older than Struve and had been previously married. They had no children; thus the famous Struve astronomical dynasty came to an end. Other branches of the Struve family besides the line of
Otto Wilhelm von Struve Otto Wilhelm von Struve (May 7, 1819 (Julian calendar: April 25) – April 14, 1905) was a Russian astronomer of Baltic German origins. In Russian, his name is normally given as Otto Vasil'evich Struve (Отто Васильевич Струв ...
continued, but yielded no distinguished scientists. On October 26, 1927, Struve became a naturalized US citizen. At that time, he was fluent in spoken and written English, but had a slight German accent which remained with him for life. Even after marriage, Struve continued working days and nights, something that his non-scientist wife could not fully accept. Although they remained together, their relations were cold in later years. Struve's health deteriorated in the late 1950s. He was suffering from
hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...
, first contracted back in Russia and Turkey. In 1956, while using a telescope at Mount Wilson, Struve had a bad fall, breaking several ribs and cracking two vertebrae. He was hospitalized for about two months and had to wear a body cast for a month after recovery. He was permanently hospitalized around 1963 and died on April 6, 1963, in Berkeley. He was survived by his mother and wife. His mother died on October 1, 1964, at the age of ninety. Mary was discovered dead on August 5, 1966, but was estimated to have died in July 1966. In 1925, Struve met his cousin, the astronomer Georg Hermann Struve at the
Lick Observatory The Lick Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the University of California. It is on the summit of Mount Hamilton, in the Diablo Range just east of San Jose, California, United States. The observatory is managed by th ...
.V. K. Abalkin ''et al.'
Struve dynasty
(in Russian), St. Petersburg University
In 1930s, they met again at
Yerkes Observatory Yerkes Observatory ( ) is an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The observatory was operated by the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from its founding in 1897 to 2018. Owne ...
and reanalyzed observations of the complex multiple star system Zeta Cancri by their grandfather
Otto Wilhelm von Struve Otto Wilhelm von Struve (May 7, 1819 (Julian calendar: April 25) – April 14, 1905) was a Russian astronomer of Baltic German origins. In Russian, his name is normally given as Otto Vasil'evich Struve (Отто Васильевич Струв ...
.


Personal qualities

Struve was often described as a big and intimidating man. According to him, in his fifties, he was six feet tall, weighed 192 pounds, had gray hair and eyes. Struve was also known as persistent, dedicated and demanding, both to himself and others – the qualities preserved in his family for generations. He was first to arrive at the observatory, often working until late evening in the office, and then spending nights with a telescope. "He had only one interest and concern, namely, that astronomy should be developed and pushed to the maximum that was possible". As a result, Struve was usually overworked, developed an insomnia and often appeared as in a daze after a 2–3 hour sleep. Struve was hardly a good teacher: because of his devotion to research and frequent trips, he missed up to two-thirds of his lectures. Nobody was allowed to take his place and students had to do personal research in his absence. Yet, he kept the highest standards of knowledge at the qualifying exams. On the other hand, his infrequent appearances magnetized many students with his passion to astronomy. During his early years at Yerkes, he developed the practice of looking with one eye into the microscope of a micrograph instrument and with another at the nearby numerical table. This probably resulted in his eyes looking into slightly different directions.Osterbrock, p.81 Although he did not care much about himself, Struve worried about people. His first paper published in Russian was titled "Aid to Russian Scientists". The
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
brought suffering to most scientific families in Russia. Frost, Struve and
George Van Biesbroeck George A. Van Biesbroeck (or Georges-Achille Van Biesbroeck, , January 21, 1880 – February 23, 1974) was a Belgian–American astronomer. He worked at observatories in Belgium, Germany and the United States. He specialized in the observation o ...
formed a "Committee for Relief of Russian Astronomers" and organized sending packages of food and clothing. The funds and clothing came from astronomers from all over the US.Memoirs, p.358 During the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, he was concerned about hiring foreigners when many Americans were jobless. Around that time, the wife of his deputy George Van Biesbroeck wrote a letter to Belgium, mentioning how Yerkes Observatory was being run by two Europeans. The letter was published and it upset Struve. Eventually, Van Biesbroeck was replaced by American-born W. W. Morgan.


Awards and honors

Struve received the
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society The Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society is the highest award given by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The RAS Council have "complete freedom as to the grounds on which it is awarded" and it can be awarded for any reason. Past awar ...
(1944), the
Bruce Medal The Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal is awarded every year by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for outstanding lifetime contributions to astronomy. It is named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patroness of astronomy, and was fi ...
(1948), the
Henry Draper Medal The Henry Draper Medal is awarded every 4 years by the United States National Academy of Sciences "for investigations in astrophysics, astronomical physics". Named after Henry Draper, the medal is awarded with a gift of USD $15,000. The medal was ...
of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
(1949) and the
Henry Norris Russell Lectureship The Henry Norris Russell Lectureship is awarded each year by the American Astronomical Society in recognition of a lifetime of excellence in astronomical research. The idea for the lectureship came from then society President Harlow Shapley in 1945, ...
of the
American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...
(1957). His Royal Society medal was the fourth (after Friedrich Georg Wilhelm, Otto Wilhelm and Hermann Struve) and the last received by Struves. The
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
768 Struveana was named in honor of
Otto Wilhelm von Struve Otto Wilhelm von Struve (May 7, 1819 (Julian calendar: April 25) – April 14, 1905) was a Russian astronomer of Baltic German origins. In Russian, his name is normally given as Otto Vasil'evich Struve (Отто Васильевич Струв ...
,
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (russian: link=no, Василий Яковлевич Струве, trans. ''Vasily Yakovlevich Struve''; 15 April 1793 – ) was a Baltic German astronomer and geodesist from the famous Struve family. He is best ...
and Karl Hermann Struve; and a
lunar crater Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The wor ...
was named for another 3 astronomers of the Struve family: Friedrich Georg Wilhelm, Otto Wilhelm and Otto. The 82-inch telescope which Struve used in his research at
McDonald Observatory McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional faci ...
was named after him in 1966, three years after his death, whereas the asteroid 2227 Otto Struve kept Struve's name from October 13, 1955. In 1925, Struve began reviewing articles for the ''
Astrophysical Journal ''The Astrophysical Journal'', often abbreviated ''ApJ'' (pronounced "ap jay") in references and speech, is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of astrophysics and astronomy, established in 1895 by American astronomers George Ellery Hale and Jame ...
'' and from 1932 to 1947, acted as its Editor in Chief. From 1946 till 1949 he was president of
American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...
. Between 1948 and 1952, he was vice-president and between 1952 and 1955 president of the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...
. In April, 1954 he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
. In 1950 he became foreign member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
. Between 1939 and 1961, he received honorary doctorate degrees from nine universities in Europe and America.Memoirs, p. 371


See also

*
Strömgren sphere In theoretical astrophysics, there can be a sphere of ionized hydrogen (H II) around a young star of the spectral classes O or B. The theory was derived by Bengt Strömgren in 1937 and later named Strömgren sphere after him. The Rosette Nebula ...


References


External links


Guide to the Otto Struve Papers
at
The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

Tells of Quest to Learn What's Between Stars
10 July 1933 Chicago Tribune Interview


Literature


Балышев М.А. Отто Людвигович Струве (1897-1963). Москва: Наука, 2008. 526 с.

Artemenko T., Balyshev M., Vavilova I. The struve dynasty in the history of astronomy in Ukraine. Kinematics and Physics of Celestial Bodies. 2009. Vol. 25 (3). P. 153-167.

Балышев М.А. Из истории Харьковской обсерватории: биографические очерки. В Кн.: 200 лет астрономии в Харьковском университете / Под. ред. проф. Ю.Г.Шкуратова. Харьков: Издательский центр ХНУ имени В.Н.Каразина, 2008. С. 99-154.

Балишев М.А. Наукова біографія академіка О.Л.Струве: проблеми відтворення, аналіз бібліографії та джерел (2008). Наука і наукознавство. 2008. №2. С. 111-120.

Балышев М.А. Sic transit gloria mundi: Жизнь и творчество Отто Людвиговича Струве (1897-1963). Историко-астрономические исследования / Институт истории естествознания и техники им. С.И. Вавилова РАН. Москва: Наука, 2007. Т.ХХХІІ. С. 138-206.

Балышев М.А. Отто Людвигович Струве. Curriculum vitae: историко-биографическое исследование (2005). Харьков: СПДФО Яковлева, 2005. 150 с.

Балышев М.А. Отто Людвигович Струве. Документально-биографический очерк. UNIVERSITATES. Наука и Просвещение. 2004. №3. С. 30-39.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Struve, Otto 1897 births 1963 deaths Baltic-German people American people of German-Russian descent White Russian emigrants to the United States Ukrainian astronomers American astronomers Discoverers of asteroids
Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...
University of Chicago faculty National University of Kharkiv alumni Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Fellows of the American Physical Society Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People with acquired American citizenship Kharkiv Observatory faculty Deaths from falls Accidental deaths in California Astronomers from the Russian Empire Presidents of the International Astronomical Union Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences