HERGESELL

GERMANY (see also List of Individuals)

\

29.5.1859 Bromberg/D - 6.6.1938 Berlin/D

\

Hugo Hergesell graduated in 1881 in mathematics and physics from Strasburg University. In 1887 he submitted a PhD thesis on the shape of the Earth. Hergesell was appointed director of the Imperial Strasburg meteorological observatory. From 1900 to 1914 he undertook numerous expeditions to explore both atmosphere and sea. From 1914 he directed the Prussian Aeronautical Observatory and during World War I he contributed to the National Weather Service. In the difficult post-war years he supported German meteorology. He was finally an honorary professor of Berlin University.

\

Hergesell, an excellent mathematician, took interest in questions relating to the variations of the sea level, masses variations on earth due to glacier development, and the formation of valleys. He also investigated the effect of geological processes due to the rotation of the Earth. However, from the 1890s he was fascinated by meteorology and by hydrology. He therefore collected observations on the thermal characteristics of lakes, and investigated the effect of thermal conduction on their density profiles. He installed an anemometer on Strasburg Cathedral to investigate the wind characteristics in Alsace. This information was needed for scientific balloon ascents. Accordingly, Hergesell was also a founding member of Verein zur Förderung der Luftschiffahrt, which published a journal as early as in 1882. Shortly later, the "International Aeronautical Commission" was founded in Paris, with Hergesell as the first president. In 1898, its second conference was held in Strasburg. During these days, captive balloons were used to collect meteorological data in heights that had so far never been investigated and were of value for aviation later. From 1902, Hergesell was at the forefront of the exploration of the atmosphere. He found important financial support from the German Emperor, Graf von Zeppelin and the Prince of Monaco. Hergesell was a great organizer of data collections all over Germany, next to his scientific qualities.

\

_{Anonymous (1912). Der Vorstand des Deutschen Luftfahrer-Verbandes. Deutsche Luftfahrt Zeitung 16: 559. P}

_{Anonymous (1920). Geh.Reg.-Rat Prof. Dr. Hugo Hergesell. Illustrierte Flug-Welt 2: 498-499. P}

_{Exner, F., Schmauss, A. (1929). Prof. Hugo Hergesell. Meteorologische Zeitschrift 64: 201. P}

_{Hergesell, H. (1904). Über den Luftwiderstand, welchen bewegte Kugeln erfahren. Illustrierte Aeronautische Mitteilungen 8(3): 77-87.}

_{Kopp, W. (1969). Hergesell. Neue Deutsche Biographie 8: 610-611. Duncker&Humblot: Berlin.}

_{Weickmann, L. (1938). Hugo Hergesell. Meteorologische Zeitschrift 55(7): 233-237.}