Johann Franz Encke made a career in science at a time when the terms of that career were still being set.
The record lists Johann Franz Encke as German astronomer (1791–1865).
Johann Franz Encke was born at Hamburg in 1791. His recorded nationality is the Kingdom of Prussia. He was educated at University of Göttingen and Frederick William University Berlin.
The eighteenth century organised knowledge into academies, expeditions and collections, and turned patronage into something closer to a profession.
The record gives his occupations as astronomer, university teacher and mathematician.
His affiliations include Berlin Observatory, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Seeberg Observatory.
His principal work is Comet Encke. A scientific contribution counts if the next generation could build on it without re-checking.
His recorded fields of work are astronomy and mathematics.
His work was formally recognised with the Fellow of the Royal Society, Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order and Royal Medal.
Working from the Kingdom of Prussia shaped what was possible - the audiences within reach, the institutions that would have him, the language the work first appeared in.
Johann Franz Encke died in 1865 at the age of 74. The work outlived the arguments around it.
Achievements
- Notable work: Comet Encke
- Affiliated with Berlin Observatory, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Seeberg Observatory
- Educated at University of Göttingen, Frederick William University Berlin and Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums
- Worked as astronomer, university teacher and mathematician
