Friedrich Theodor von Schubert (30 October 1758 – 21 October 1825) was a German astronomer and geographer.

Life and works

Born in Helmstedt, his father, Johann Ernst Schubert, was a professor of theology and abbot of

Michaelstein Abbey Michaelstein Abbey (Kloster Michaelstein) is a former Cistercian monastery, now the home of the ''Stiftung Kloster Michaelstein - Musikinstitut für Aufführungspraxis'' ("Michaelstein Abbey Foundation - Music Institute for Performance"), near ...

. Theodor likewise studied theology, but didn't like it. He traveled abroad, first to Sweden in 1779. He then went to Bartelshagen, where he became the tutor of the children of Major von Cronhelm. Since the major was fond of mathematics and astronomy, Theodor had to study these himself to be able to teach those subjects. He then married the daughter of the major, Luise Friederike von Cronhelm. Afterwards, he traveled to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, again as a house teacher. He moved on to

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. History The name ''Haapsalu'' derives from the Estonian words ' ...

, teaching mathematics to young noblemen as a preparation for a life as an officer. In 1785 he became an assistant of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

as a geographer, and by June 1789 he was a full member. In 1803, he became head of the astronomical observatory of the Academy. In 1805, he was a member of the failed Russian expedition to China, together with his son. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1812. He not only produced some scientific works, but also helped popularize astronomy. Between 1788 and 1825, he published the ''St. Petersburger Kalender'', and between 1808 and 1818 the ''St. Petersburger astronomischen Taschenkalender''. He also wrote for the newspapers and for the German language ''St. Petersburger Zeitung'', which he edited from 1810 until his death. His son Friedrich von Schubert was a general in the Russian army and explorer. The lunar crater

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

is named after him.

Bibliography

* ''Populäre Astronomie''. 3 volumes, Petersburg (1808–10) * ''Theoretische Astronomie''. 3 volumes, Petersburg 1798. Translated in French as ''Traite d'astronomie theorique'', published in 1834 by Perthes & Besser. * ''Astronomische Bestimmung der Längen u. Breiten''. Petersburg 1806 (reprinted, and translated in Russian) * ''Geschichte der Astronomie''. Petersburg 1804 * ''Vermischte Schriften''. 7 volumes, Tübingen 1823–26 (4 volumes) and Leipzig 1840 (3 volumes).

References

Biography
from Pierer's ''Universal-Lexikon'', 4th edition 1857–1865 (in German)
Biography
from the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'', 1891 (in German, at

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) {{DEFAULTSORT:Schubert, Theodor Von 1758 births 1825 deaths People from Helmstedt 19th-century German astronomers 19th-century astronomers from the Russian Empire Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Historians of astronomy Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 18th-century German astronomers