Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt
Born October 26, 1825 Died February 7, 1884
The nineteenth century was a grand time to be a German in Athens. Even after local hard feelings had been assuaged by ridding King Othon’s
government of his Bavarian advisors after 1843, German citizens still flocked to
Athens, willing and able to help in the nation building process. And they were
welcomed. It was mutually beneficial; German and Greek intellectuals were
thinking along the same lines at the time.
Greats such
as Johann Winckelmann and Friedrich Schiller had already promoted adopting the
values of ancient Greece as a pattern for their own country’s post-Enlightenment
cultural progress.These were the very values that intellectuals in the new nation believed must
underlie and define the cultural identity of the modern Greek state. (1)
So, while Heinrich Schliemann was busy uncovering
the grave circles at Mycenae, a less well known German resident in Athens, was putting
the finishing touches on his contribution
to the glory of science. His name was Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt: astronomer,
geophysicist, and distinguished head of the National Observatory in Athens. He had just created a comprehensive map of the visible
moon.
A model of
Schmidt’s moon
32,856 craters were identified and labeled on this map; it was four
times more detailed than any lunar map hitherto attempted.
With today’s
Hubble telescope, not to mention modern terrestrial ones, it is hard to
appreciate the magnitude of this 19th century breakthrough. Schmidt still
lived in an era when a smallish ocular telescope was the best you could hope
for. Tenacity, keen eyesight, and a superior sensitivity to colour variation were
as important prerequisites as the equipment in the observatory. He had these and spent his last 26 years studying the night sky from Athens.
The Observatory
Today’s residents, facing daily air pollution, might be surprised to learn
that Athens’ once crystal clear skies were considered to be perfect for European
star gazers. The proof is the impressive National Observatory of Athens (2), still perched on the Hill of the Nymphs opposite the
Acropolis.
Now in the
middle of the city, it was all alone when it was completed in 1846. And anyone
who thinks scientists back then lacked a sense of flair or self promotion need
to know that the laying of the corner stone in 1842 was timed to coincide with
a total eclipse of the sun.
As seen from the Acropolis
hill today, with the city surrounding it
Its initial
brief was to measure time and record meteorological phenomena. Its final shape was a cooperative effort between
its builders and the astronomers who planned to use it.
The original
designer was another famous German Athenian, Eduard Shaubert. Although his original Byzantine cross shape
remained, his design was modified by Theophil
Hansen to conform to the severe neoclassical style so popular in Athens at
the time.
Hansen was so
pleased with the result that he had Servare Intaminatum (To be
Kept Intact) carved above the coat of arms of the Sinas family who had
financed the project.
This admonition still
greets the visitor today.
All distances from Athens to the rest of the world were measured from the
Observatory’s foundations. With its prominent rounded dome (not to mentions its
four arms pointing north, south, east, and west) it is tempting to regard the
observatory as the post- Enlightenment omphalos of the new Greece!
But, back to
our scientist.
The Man Who Put a Face on the Moon.
Johann Friedrich Julius
Schmidt was born in Eutin, Germany. His love affair with the
moon began early. The story goes that, as a lad of 14, he steadied his first small
telescope against a lamp post in order to view it more clearly. His interest never waned...
He studied in Hamburg and worked in observatories in Dusseldorf, East
Prussia, Moravia, before moving on to Athens where he was appointed director of
the Athens Observatory in 1858, a post he would hold until his death in 1884.
Although the moon map is what he is most remembered
for, he was also an expert in the study of comets, variable stars, sun spots,
asteroids, as well as of terrestrial vulcanology. He was, by all accounts, a true renaissance
man of science - a meticulous workaholic, totally dedicated to uncovering the
secrets of the known universe. He even discovered a new star (Q Cygnus). His work was known and admired throughout Europe.
A crater on the moon is still dedicated to his memory.
His reputation suffered a small eclipse of its own
when he insisted that one of the craters on the moon was undergoing changes as
he observed it – a proposition that was doubted even at the time.
The Linné crater today, still stubbornly refusing to alter
Science was younger then and, if he was wrong about
the Sea of Serenity’s Linné crater, he
would no doubt be delighted by recent discoveries of vulcanism on Io, one of
the moons of Jupiter.
Schmidt remained active at the Observatory until his
sudden and unexpected death on February 6, 1884.
His Death
A day of
mourning was announced and his funeral oratory, held inside the observatory itself, was attended by the King and
Queen of Greece. He was buried in the Protestant section of the First Cemetery
of Athens. It may not have been his choice had he not died so suddenly, but it
is fortuitous for visitors like ourselves to be able to still read his name, wonder, and be reminded of yet another small piece of Greek history.
The Grave
This grave lies beyond the impressive monument to
George Finley in row F of the Protestant section. It is sadly neglected.
Whether vandalism was intended or its condition is simple a result of the
ravages of time, is hard to say. The moon, stars, and the tools of his trade
are still clearly etched in marble:
The Map:
From Miavolta.gr
Footnotes:
(1)The
Greeks are what we were; they are what we shall become. Friedrich
Schiller
(2) The
observatory is a museum today and well worth a visit.
Delighted that I found your site, fantastic info. I will bookmark and try to visit more frequently.
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