Adolph Theodor Kupffer facts for kids
Adolph Theodor Kupffer (born January 17, 1799, died June 4, 1865) was a smart scientist. He was a chemist and a physicist from the Russian Empire. He is known for creating Russia's main office for standard weights and measures. He also started the country's main weather observatory.
His Life and Discoveries
Kupffer grew up in Jelgava. He became very interested in science during school. He finished school in 1813.
He later studied at the University of Dorpat in 1816. He also learned about minerals in Berlin. After that, he studied in Paris and Göttingen. There, he earned his Ph.D. degree.
When he returned to Russia, he became a professor. He taught chemistry and physics at Kazan University. He also traveled to buy scientific tools for the Ministry of Education. He worked on understanding Earth's magnetism. He even joined trips to study the land around Mount Elbrus.
From 1828, he was a member of the Academy of Sciences. First for minerals, then for physics.
In 1828, Kupffer traveled to the Urals mountains. He visited cities like Zlatoust and Miass. He wrote a book in French about his trip. It was called Journey to the Urals, undertaken in 1828. He gave a copy of this book to Emperor Nicholas I.
In 1829, he went to the Caucasus region. Later, he became the director of the Mineralogical Museum. He also started the St. Petersburg Observatory. This observatory helped collect weather information from all over the Russian Empire.
Kupffer had a big idea to make all weights and measures the same across Russia. He led a special group from 1832 to 1842. He helped create the first official standards for weight and length. These included platinum pounds and yards. His work became law in 1835. This made trade and science much easier in Russia.
In 1843, he became a full member of the Academy of Sciences.
In 1859, he represented Russia at a meeting in Bradford. This meeting was about making weights, measures, and money the same worldwide.
Starting in 1857, Russia and France began sharing weather data. Kupffer helped set this up. In 1865, he worked to connect all European countries by telegraph for weather updates. He was a key person in creating a combined weather service. Sadly, he caught a cold in March 1865. He was installing a wind-measuring tool on the observatory roof. He died two months later on June 4, 1865, from pneumonia. He was buried in Smolensky Lutheran Cemetery in St. Petersburg. Kupffer also started an observatory to measure Earth's magnetic field every hour.
Awards
- Deystvitelny State Advisor (1851)
- Chevalier Order of St. Anna 1st Class (1864)
- St. Stanislaus 1st Class (1860)
- St. Vladimir 3rd degree (1856)
His Writings
Kupffer wrote over 150 scientific papers. These papers covered many topics. These included how crystals are formed, minerals, metals, measurements, Earth's magnetism, and weather.
He also taught physics at the Pedagogical Institute of Mining. Besides articles in scientific journals, he published several books:
- Dissertatio de calculo crystallonomico (Göttingen, 1821)
- Preisschrift über genaue Messung der Winkel an Krystallen (Berlin, 1826)
- Voyage dans les environs du mont Elbrouz dans le Caucase (St. Petersburg, 1830)
- Reise in die Umgegend des Berges Elborus in Kaukasus (St. Petersburg, 1830)
- Handbuch der rechnenden Krystallonomie (St. Petersburg, 1831)
- Voyage dans l'Oural entrepris en 1828 (St. Petersburg, 1833; with atlas)
- Guide to making magnetic and meteorological observations (St. Petersburg, 1835)
- Instructions pour faire des observations metéorologiques et magnétiques (St. Petersburg, 1836)
- Tables psychrometriques et barométriques à l'usage des observatoires météorologiques de rempire de Russie (St. Petersburg, 1841)
- The findings of meteorological observations in the Russian state (St. Petersburg, 1846)
- Experimental studies of the elasticity of metals (St. Petersburg, 1860)
Kupffer also published yearly reports. These included Annales de l'observatoire physique central de Russie 1847-1856 and Compte rendu annuel for the years 1850–1863.
