Otto Heckmann
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Otto Hermann Leopold Heckmann (June 23, 1901 – May 13, 1983) was a German mathematician and astronomer, director of the
Hamburg Observatory Hamburg Observatory () is an astronomical observatory located in the Bergedorf borough of the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. It is owned and operated by the University of Hamburg, Germany since 1968, although it was founded in 1825 by the ...
from 1941 to 1962, after which he became the first director of the
European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 m ...
. He actively contributed to the creation of the third issue of the ''
Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog The ''Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog'' (AGK) is an astrometric star catalogue of the Northern hemisphere. It was published in 3 versions from 1890 until 1975, named AGK1, AGK2 and AGK3. History Compilation for the first version, Astronomische ...
''. He also contributed to
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
based on the fundamentals of
general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity, and as Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of grav ...
, and in 1942 wrote the book ''Theorien der Kosmologie''.


Early life and education

Otto Heckmann was born to Agnes Heckmann, née Grüter and Max Heckmann,a notary, a Catholic family in
Opladen Opladen, now a district of Leverkusen, used to be the capital of the Rhein-Wupper-Kreis (Rhine-Wupper-District) until 1975. Opladen station is located northeast from Cologne on the railway to Wuppertal. It is also on the Autobahn A3. Populati ...
in 1901. He studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the
University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...
. He wrote a thesis in
astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...
under
Karl Friedrich Küstner Karl Friedrich Küstner (born in Görlitz on 22 August 1856, died 15 October 1936) was a German astronomer who also made contributions to Geodesy. In 1888, he reportedly discovered the Polar motion of the Earth. In 1910, he received the Gold Med ...
about a star cluster in
Praesepe The Beehive Cluster (also known as Praesepe (Latin for "manger", "cot" or "crib"), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189), is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars tha ...
and received a doctorate in 1925. He married in 1925 and worked for two years in the
Bonn Observatory Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This m ...
with Küstner, who was involved in the planning of star catalog Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog 2 of the Northern Hemisphere.


Career

In 1927 Heckmann was appointed to the faculty of the
University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
and worked in the Göttingen Observatory under Hans Kienle. In 1929, Heckmann obtained 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 ...
of astrometry in the star group
Coma Berenices Coma Berenices is an ancient asterism in the northern sky, which has been defined as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is in the direction of the fourth galactic quadrant, between Leo and Boötes, and it is visible in both hemispher ...
.


1933–1945

After Adolf Hitler had come to power in 1933, at least 48 colleagues in the science faculty at Göttingen were driven into exile because of their religious, or more rarely political beliefs (Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums, 7 April 1933), amongst them
Max Born Max Born (; 11 December 1882 – 5 January 1970) was a German-British theoretical physicist who was instrumental in the development of quantum mechanics. He also made contributions to solid-state physics and optics, and supervised the work of a ...
. Heckmann was tasked to continue Born s lectures in optics and asked Born to give him his lecture notes, which Born refused. Heckmann initially thought that he could survive the system by retreating into science alone. In September 1933, the local NSDAP judged Heckmann as "long time member of the leftist wing of the Catholic
Zentrumspartei The Centre Party (, Z), officially the German Centre Party (, DZP) and also known in English as the Catholic Centre Party, is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic political party in Germany. It was most influential in the German Empire a ...
, unreliable and pro-Jewish (judenfreundlich)". In 1934, 3 professors from Frankfurt tried to recruit him, but were thwarted by the denuciation of Karl Boda, a competitor. Likewise, in 1934
Walther Gerlach Walther Gerlach (1 August 1889 – 10 August 1979) was a German physicist who co-discovered, through laboratory experiment, spin quantization in a magnetic field, the Stern–Gerlach effect. The experiment was conceived by Otto Stern in 1921 an ...
(1889-1979) suggested he come to München, but a Nazi official (Gaudozentenbundsführer Wilhelm Führer) and a member of the
Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund The National Socialist German Students' Union (German: ''Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund'', abbreviated NSDStB) was founded in 1926 as a division of the Nazi Party with the mission of integrating University-level education and ac ...
turned him down. Heckman probably would not have had any opportunities in academia if he had not taken steps to change the assessment of the local Nazi representatives. And due to his high specialization, Heckmann found himself without professional alternatives, such as industry. In 1934, Heckmann joined the NS-Fliegerkorps, attended Wehrsportlager in Borna near Leipzig, the Dozentenakademie in Kiel-Buchenhagen. He signed the ''
Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State officially translated into English as the Vow of allegiance of the Professors of the German Universities and High-Schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialistic State was a document presented on 11 November 1933 at the Albert Hall in Leipzi ...
''. On July 10, 1934, he joined the
Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt The National Socialist People's Welfare (, NSV) was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich. The NSV was originally established in 1931 as a small Nazi Party-affiliated charity, which was active locally in the city of Berlin. On 3 M ...
. Starting 1935, the Nazi representatives evaluated him as more adapted and conforming to the system. In December 1936, he was urged to apply for the position vacated by
Erwin Finlay Freundlich Erwin Finlay-Freundlich (; 29 May 1885 – 24 July 1964) was a German astronomer, a pupil of Felix Klein. Freundlich was a working associate of Albert Einstein and introduced experiments for which the general theory of relativity could be tested ...
at the
University of Istanbul Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, it was reformed as the fi ...
, a highly political position serving military interests (observation of the sun’s surface for
solar flare A solar flare is a relatively intense, localized emission of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere. Flares occur in active regions and are often, but not always, accompanied by coronal mass ejections, solar particle events, and ot ...
s resulting in interference with radio communications on Earth), but eventually
Hans Oswald Rosenberg Hans Oswald Rosenberg (18 May 1879 – 26 July 1940) was a German astronomer. He worked in the University of Tübingen before losing his job in Nazi Germany for having Jewish descent. He then moved to the United States of America and then to Turkey. ...
was chosen. Until 1935, Heckmann measured star colors in the red and blue spectrum with
photometry Photometry can refer to: * Photometry (optics), the science of measurement of visible light in terms of its perceived brightness to human vision * Photometry (astronomy), the measurement of the flux or intensity of an astronomical object's electr ...
with a telescope costing "two years of painstaking adjustment until it began working properly". In 1935, he received the honorary title of professor. After 1937 they used a
Schmidt telescope Schmidt may refer to: * Schmidt (surname), including list of people and fictional characters with the surname * Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer * Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater * Schmidt (Martian c ...
with an
aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...
of about 38 centimeters. In the fall of 1937 the Hamburg University faculty finally called on Heckmann, after having been obstructed for years by the Government of the Reich, and by various agencies within the Nazi Party. On May 1st, 1937 Heckmann joined the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
, encouraged by
Werner Heisenberg Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...
in order to thwart members 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- ...
to occupy teaching positions. However in 1938, the leader of the Reichsdozentenbund (an association of government lecturers dominated by the Nazis), refused to permit Heckmann to occupy the position arguing most of his publications were co-authored and his solo-authored publications on relativity theory represented a Jewish world view. In 1938, Heckmann participated in ideological instruction at the "Reichslager für Beamte" in
Bad Tölz Bad Tölz (; Bavarian: ''Däiz'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany and the administrative center of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district. History Archaeology has shown continuous occupation of the site of Bad Tölz since the retreat of the gla ...
. The appointment to Hamburg was delayed until April 1941. Finally, in 1941, Heckmann left Göttingen to direct the
Hamburg Observatory Hamburg Observatory () is an astronomical observatory located in the Bergedorf borough of the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. It is owned and operated by the University of Hamburg, Germany since 1968, although it was founded in 1825 by the ...
, Bergedorf. After 14 years of being an extraordinary professor (assistant), he finally became officially appointed a full professor and civil servant in January 1942.


1945–1969

After WWII, Heckmann worked on the establishment of a joint
European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 m ...
(ESO) in South Africa. In the 1950s he supervised the thesis of
Jürgen Stock (astronomer) Jürgen Stock (8 July 1923 – 19 March 2004) was a German astronomer, best known for discovering the site of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile after a two year search starting in 1960, and was its first director from 1962 to 19 ...
, who eventually went on to search for and established an observatory site for the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in Chile, after which the ESO founded their centre in Chile as well. Heckmann retired from the directorship of Hamburg Observatory in 1962. From 1962 to 1969 he served as the first director general of the
European Southern Observatory The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 m ...
.


Later life

After mandatory retirement from the university in 1969, he served as president of the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
(IAU) from 1967 to 1970.
Charles Fehrenbach (astronomer) Charles Fehrenbach (born 29 April 1914 in Strasbourg; died 9 January 2008 in Nîmes) was a French astronomer and member of the French Academy of Sciences. He was director of the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP) until 1983. Following the Seco ...
called him the work horse of the IAU. Following a Polish request and under the impression of German acts in Poland during World War II, he made the controversial decision to hold an Extraordinary IAU General Assembly in February 1973 in Warsaw, Poland, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of
Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...
, shortly after the regular 1973 GA had been held in Australia.


Personal life

He married Johanna Topfmeier in 1925 and they had three children together: Klaus, Hildegard and Ulrike. He died in his family circle in Regensburg while traveling to visit his son there.


Legacy

The
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
1650 Heckmann is named after him.


Awards

*
James Craig Watson Medal image:Watson_medal_NAS.gif, 400px, James Craig Watson Medal The James Craig Watson Medal was established by the bequest of James Craig Watson, an astronomer the University of Michigan between 1863 and 1879, and is awarded every 1-4 years by the U.S. ...
in 1961 *
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 ...
in 1964


Works

* ''Theorien der Kosmologie''. Berlin: Springer, 1942 und 1968 * ''Sterne, Kosmos, Weltmodelle''. München: Piper, 1976 (dtv-Taschenbuch)


References


External links


Heckmann, Otto Hermann Leopold
From ''
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography The ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' is a scholarly reference work that was published from 1970 through 1980 by publisher Charles Scribner's Sons, with main editor the science historian Charles Gillispie, from Princeton University. It consi ...
'', 2008.


Obituaries


MitAG 60 (1983) 9
(in German) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heckmann, Otto 1901 births 1983 deaths 20th-century German astronomers Nazi Party members Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities Presidents of the International Astronomical Union Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the University of Hamburg