Bruno Jakob Thüring (7 September 1905, in Warmensteinach – 6 May 1989, in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

) was a German

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

Life and career

Thüring studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

and received his doctorate in 1928, under Alexander Wilkens. Wilkens was a professor of astronomy and director of the Munich Observatory, which was part of the University. From 1928 to 1933, Thüring was an assistant at the Munich

Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

. From 1934 to 1935, he was an assistant to Heinrich Vogt at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

. Thüring completed his

Habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

there in 1935, whereupon he became an Observator at the Munich Observatory. In 1937, Thüring became a lecturer (Dozent) at the University of Munich. From 1940 to 1945, he held the chair for astronomy at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

and was director of the

Vienna Observatory The Vienna Observatory () is an astronomical observatory in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the University of Vienna. The first observatory was built in 1753–1754 on the roof of one of the university buildings. A new observatory was built betwe ...

. After 1945, Thüring lived as a private scholar in

. During the reign of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, Thüring was a proponent of

Deutsche Physik ''Deutsche Physik'' (, "German Physics") or Aryan Physics () was a nationalist movement in the German physics community in the early 1930s which had the support of many eminent physicists in Germany. The term appears in the title of a four- ...

, as were the two Nobel Prize-winning physicists

Johannes Stark Johannes Stark (; 15 April 1874 – 21 June 1957) was a German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1919 "for his discovery of the Doppler effect in canal rays and the splitting of spectral lines in electric fields". This phenom ...

and

Philipp Lenard Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (; ; 7 June 1862 – 20 May 1947) was a Hungarian-German physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 "for his work on cathode rays" and the discovery of many of their properties. One of his most im ...

; ''Deutsche Physik'', was

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

and had a bias against

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain, and predict List of natural phenomena, natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental p ...

, especially

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

. He was also a student of the

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

of Hugo Dingler. Thüring was an opponent of Albert Einstein's

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...

Books

* Bruno Thüring (Georg Lüttke Verlag, 1941) * Bruno Thüring (Göller, 1957) * Bruno Thüring (Göller, 1958) * Bruno Thüring (Duncker u. Humblot GmbH, 1967) * Bruno Thüring (Duncker & Humblot GmbH, 1978) * Bruno Thüring (Haag u. Herchen, 1985)

Notes

References

* Clark, Ronald W. ''Einstein: The Life and Times'' (World, 1971) {{DEFAULTSORT:Thuring, Bruno 1905 births 1989 deaths 20th-century German physicists 20th-century German astronomers Academic staff of Heidelberg University Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Scientists from the Kingdom of Bavaria Relativity critics Science teachers Academic staff of the University of Vienna