BÜSCH

GERMANY (see also List of Individuals)

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3.1.1728 Altenmedingen/D - 5.8.1800 Hamburg/D

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Johann Georg Büsch studied theology, history and mathematics at the Göttingen University from 1748 to 1751. He was appointed in 1756 professor of mathematics at the academic gymnasium of Hamburg, where he stayed until his death. He founded the academy of commerce in Hamburg which he directed besides his commitments in teaching. There, Alexander von Humboldt was one of his students. In his old days, Büsch had turned almost completely blind and suffered from a leg disease. He had been a Member of the academies of Erfurt, Haarlem and Saint Petersburg.

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Büsch has published a large number of books in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences, medicine, engineering, philosophy, and politics. His main contributions are certainly in political economy. He has also significantly contributed to hydraulic engineering. During long travels all through Northern Germany, Holland, England and Scandinavia, he reported on the methods applied in hydraulic engineering. In his 1773 book later expanded to five volumes, Büsch investigated the movement of water, and he presented the latest investigations in aerometry, naval engineering and war sciences. The volume on discharge measurement is based on earlier findings of both Johann Esaias Silberschlag (1721-1791) and Reinhard Woltman (1757-1837). Volumes 2 and 3 introduce hydraulic engineering, which Büsch had dictated to his pupil Claus Kroencke (1771-1843). The book also summarizes the main German contributions to this topic, thereby mentioning Brahms, Silberschlag, Woltman and Karl Friedrich von Wiebeking (1762-1842). Then, accidents relating to hydraulic engineering are described, thereby referring to construction methods above, on and below the water. The latter item thus refers to foundations, bridge abutments, cofferdams, earth pressure and machinery required for hydraulic works. Volume 3 highlights river engineering and dikes needed to protect the regions adjacent to a river. Damages of dikes by high tides and floods are described and methods are outline to improve these structures.

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_{Biensfeldt, J. (1910). Johann Georg Büsch - Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Nationalökonomie.}

_{Inaugural-Dissertation. Friedrich-Alexanders-Universität: Erlangen.}

_{Büsch, J.G. (1793). Praktische Darstellung der Bauwissenschaft. Hoffmann: Hamburg. Büsch, J.G. (1796). Wasserbaukunst. Hoffmann: Hamburg.}

_{Büsch, J.G. (1798). Mathematik zum Nutzen und Vergnügen des bürgerlichen Lebens, 4th ed.}

_{Hoffmann: Hamburg.}

_{Rohde, H. (1978). Johann Georg Büsch. Wasser und Boden 30(2): 25-27. P}