View source for Georg von Neumayer

{{Short description|German polar explorer and scientist (1826–1909)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Georg_Neumayer.png|thumb|Georg von Neumayer, c. 1860]]
'''Georg Balthazar von Neumayer''' (21 June 1826 &ndash; 24 May 1909) was a German polar explorer and scientist who was a proponent of the idea of international cooperation for [[meteorology]] and scientific observation. He served as a hydrographer for the [[German Empire]] and was a founder of the Wilhelmshaven Observatory and the German Maritime Observatory which he directed from 1875. He was involved in establishing [[Telegraphy|telegraphic networks]] for the sharing of meteorological data as well as promoting observatories in the [[Antarctic]] and [[Australia]]. Along with [[Karl Weyprecht|Carl Weyprecht]], he was a founder of the International Polar Commission in 1879. In 1900 he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown with the associated title of '''Ritter von Neumayer'''.

== Biography ==

=== Early years ===
Born in [[Kirchheimbolanden]], [[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]], Neumayer was the fifth child of notary Georg and his wife Theresia, née Kirchner. He went to the Frankenthal gymnasium as well as schools in Speyer and Kaiserlautern before he went to study  [[geophysics]] and [[hydrography]] at the Ludwig Maximilian University in [[Munich]], [[Bavaria]] in 1849; and becoming much interested in polar exploration, continued his studies in terrestrial magnetism, oceanography, navigation, and nautical astronomy. To obtain practical experience he made a voyage to [[South America]] on the Hamburg barque ''Louise'', and after his return gave a series of lectures at Hamburg on [[Matthew Fontaine Maury|Maury]]'s theories of the ocean, and recent improvements in navigation. He then decided to go to [[Australia]], shipped as a sailor [[Wiktionary:before the mast|before the mast]], and arrived at Sydney in 1852.<ref>{{NDB|19|166|168|Neumayer, Georg von|Priesner, Claus|118738674}}</ref>

===Australia===
[[File:Portrait von Neumayer.jpg|left|thumb|Portrait of Neumayer in 1865 by [[Cäsar Willich]] (1825-1886)]]
Neumayer was one of a number of influential German-speaking residents {{em-dash}} such as [[Ludwig Becker (explorer)|Ludwig Becker]], [[Hermann Beckler]], [[William Blandowski]], [[Amalie Dietrich]], [[Wilhelm Haacke]], [[Diedrich Henne]], [[Gerard Krefft]], [[Johann George Luehmann|Johann Luehmann]], [[Johann Menge]], [[Carl Muecke (editor)|Carl Mücke (a.k.a. Muecke)]], [[Ludwig Preiss]], [[Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker|Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker (a.k.a. Ruemker)]], [[Moritz Richard Schomburgk]], [[Richard Semon|Richard Wolfgang Semon]], [[Karl Theodor Staiger]], [[George Henry Frederick Ulrich|George Ulrich]], [[Eugene von Guerard|Eugene von Guérard]], [[Robert J. Lendlmayer von Lendenfeld|Robert von Lendenfeld]], [[Ferdinand von Mueller]], and [[Carl Wilhelmi]] {{em-dash}} who brought their "epistemic traditions" to Australia, and not only became "deeply entangled with the Australian colonial project", but also were "intricately involved in imagining, knowing and shaping colonial Australia" (Barrett, et al., 2018, p.2).<ref>In relation to "Australasia", another German-speaking explorer and geologist, [[Julius von Haast|Julius von Haast (1822-1887)]], was appointed as the inaugural Curator/Director of the [[Canterbury Museum, Christchurch|Canterbury Museum]], in [[Christchurch|Christchurch, New Zealand]] in 1867.</ref>

After trying his fortune on the goldfields, Neumayer gave lectures on navigation to seamen, and spent some time in [[Tasmania]] at the observatory in [[Hobart]]. He returned to [[German Confederation|Germany]] in 1854 convinced that Australia offered a great field for scientific exploration, obtained the support of the King of Bavaria and encouragement from leading British scientists. He sailed again for Australia and arrived in Melbourne in January 1857. He asked the government of Victoria to provide him with a site for an observatory, about £700 for a building, and about £600 a year for expenses. He had brought with him a collection of magnetical, nautical and meteorological instruments valued at £2000, which had been provided by the King of Bavaria.

Neumayer suggested as a suitable site a block of land not far from the present position of the observatory, but this was not granted. He was, however, allowed the use of the buildings of the signal station on Flagstaff Hill creating the [[Flagstaff Observatory for Geophysics, Magnetism and Nautical Science]] at what is now [[Flagstaff Gardens, Melbourne|Flagstaff Gardens]] in [[Melbourne]], Australia. From 1 March 1858 he carried on the systematic registration of meteorological and nautical data. A few weeks later he added regular observations on atmospheric electricity and changes in the magnetic elements.

Between 1858 and 1863, he, and a team of assistants, extracted data from hundreds of ship logbooks that was then analysed to find the best route of maximum speed and safety for sailing ships travelling between Europe and Australia.<ref>[https://snr.org.uk/note-professor-neumayers-average-track-chart-australia/ Mark Howard, “Professor Neumayer’s average track chart to Australia,” ''The Mariner’s Mirror'', 79 (3) August 1993, pp.336-7.]</ref> To obtain the logbooks he placed advertisements in the Victorian ''Government Gazette'', and posted signs at the Melbourne Customs House, requesting the masters of arriving vessels to deposit their logbooks at his offices in the Flagstaff Observatory with a promise they would be returned within four days. More than 600 logs were examined and the information extracted was analysed and the conclusions published in the second half of a book published in 1864.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=EuJQAAAAcAAJ&q=Neumayer+%22results+of+the+meteorological+observations%22 George Neumayer, (1864) ''Results of the meteorological observations taken in the colony of Victoria during the years 1859-1862; and the nautical observations collected and discussed at the Flagstaff Observatory, Melbourne, during the years 1858-1862'', Victorian Government Printer, Melbourne, pp.259-392.]</ref> He was also involved in continuing studies begun earlier to drop bottles with messages to reconstruct currents based on recoveries.<ref>{{Citation |last=Struck |first=Wolfgang |title=Cultural Techniques |chapter=A Message in a Bottle |date=2020-08-24 |pages=61–72 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110647044-004 |isbn=978-3-11-064704-4|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Neumayer was elected a councillor of the [[Royal Society of Victoria]] in 1859, a vice-president in 1860 and a life member in 1864.<ref>{{Cite book |title= Australian Dictionary of Biography|author=R. A. Swan |chapter=Georg Balthasar von Neumayer (1826–1909) |location=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography at the Australian National University |access-date=6 December 2020 |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/neumayer-georg-balthasar-von-4290}}</ref> He was elected to honorary membership of the [[Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society]] on 17 April 1894.<ref>Memoirs and proceedings of the Manchester Literary & Philosophical Society FOURTH SERIES  Eighth  VOLUME   1894 </ref>

=== Burke and Wills Expedition ===
{{main|Burke and Wills expedition}}
[[William John Wills]], second-in-command of the [[Burke and Wills expedition]] succeeded [[J. W. Osborne]] as Neumayer's assistant at the Flagstaff Observatory until the expedition departed from [[Melbourne]] on 20 August 1860. Neumayer was a member of the ''Exploration Committee'' of the Royal Society of Victoria which organised the Expedition. Neumayer joined the Expedition at [[Swan Hill, Victoria|Swan Hill]] in order to conduct his magnetic observations. He remained with [[Robert O'Hara Burke|Burke]] and [[William John Wills|Wills]] as far as the [[Darling River]] at [[Pooncarie, New South Wales|Bilbarka]], before returning to the settled districts of Victoria.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zillman |first=John |date=2011 |title=Von Neumayer and the origins of Australian and international meteorology |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=RS11070 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria |language=en |volume=123 |issue=1 |pages=70 |doi=10.1071/RS11070 |issn=0035-9211}}</ref>

=== Legacy ===

[[File:NW Grab Georg von Neumayer2.JPG|thumb|Neumayer's grave, [[Neustadt an der Weinstraße]]]]

He published in 1860, ''Results of the Magnetical, Nautical and Meteorological Observations from March 1858 to February 1859'', and did a large amount of travelling in Victoria in connection with his magnetic survey of the colony. He published his ''Results of the Meteorological Observations 1859-1862'' and ''Nautical Observations 1858-1862'' in 1864, and in the same year returned to Germany. In 1867 he brought out his ''Discussion of the Meteorological and Magnetical Observations made at the Flagstaff Observatory'', and in 1869 appeared his extremely valuable Results of the ''Magnetic Survey of the Colony of Victoria—1858-1864''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schröder |first1=Wilfried |last2=Wiederkehr |first2=Karl Heinrich |date=1992-11-27 |title=Georg von Neumayer (1826—1909) und die internationale Entwicklung der Geophysik |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ges/49/1/article-p45_6.xml |journal=[[Gesnerus]] |language=en |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=45–62 |doi=10.1163/22977953-04901006 |issn=0016-9161}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schröder |first1=W. |last2=Wiederkehr |first2=K.-H. |last3=Schlegel |first3=K. |date=2010-12-22 |title=Georg von Neumayer and geomagnetic research |url=https://hgss.copernicus.org/articles/1/77/2010/ |journal=History of Geo- and Space Sciences |language=en |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=77–87 |doi=10.5194/hgss-1-77-2010 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2010HGSS....1...77S |issn=2190-5029}}</ref>

Later, he organized the "Gazelle Expedition" (1874-1876), so named as it was conducted aboard the German [[steam frigate]] {{SMS|Gazelle|1859|6}}. and was director of the [[hydrographic office|hydrographic organisation]] "Deutsche Seewarte" (1876-1903). He chaired the [[International Polar Commission]] in 1879 together with  [[Karl Weyprecht]], founding the first [[International Polar Year]] 1882/83 and the [[Antarctic Year]] 1901. In 1895, von Neumayer had established the German Commission for South Polar Exploration, which culminated in the [[First German Antarctica Expedition]] in 1901, the so-called ''Gauss'' expedition.

In 1890 he co-authored the first [[cloud atlas]].<ref>{{cite book
|author1=H. H. Hildebrandsson |author2=W. Köppen |author3=G. Neumayer |year=1890
|title=Cloud Atlas
|publisher=
|location=Hamburg
}}</ref>

Polar explorer [[Roald Amundsen]] came to study under Neumayer in 1900.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.polarhistorie.no/ekspedisjoner/gjoaekspedisjonen|title=Index of /Ekspedisjoner/Gjoaekspedisjonen|access-date=30 August 2012|archive-date=20 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220150831/http://www.polarhistorie.no/ekspedisjoner/gjoaekspedisjonen|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the same year, Neumayer was designated a Commander of the [[Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown]], including the right to furthermore have his surname preceded by 'Ritter von' ('Knight of').

Neumayer died in 1909 in [[Neustadt an der Weinstraße]]. He gave his name to the German Polar Research Station in Antarctica, the now abandoned "[[Neumayer Station]]". This year-round manned station is totally covered with ice and snow (buried 10 meters under the surface) and is situated in the Weddell-Sea area (08 15W, 70 35S). The successor was the [[Neumayer Station II]] which was then abandoned itself. The only station in use now is the [[Neumayer Station III]]. Research topics are permanent observations of the Earth's magnetic field, seismological registrations, infrasonic, meteorological and air chemistry investigations.

== Bibliography ==
* Georg Neumayer, "Die internationale Polarforschung" (Berlin 1886 / 2 volumes).
* Georg Neumayer, "Auf zum Südpol" (Berlin 1901).
* Georg Neumayer, "Description and system of working of the Flagstaff Observatory". In J. Macadam (Ed.), ''Transactions of the [[Philosophical Institute of Victoria]]: From January to December 1858 inclusive''. Vol. III. (Melbourne 1859).
* Georg Neumayer, "Results of the Magnetic Survey of the Colony of Victoria. Executed during the years 1858-1864" (Mannheim 1869).
* Edward Heis and George Neumayer, "On Meteors in the Southern Hemisphere" (Mannheim 1867).

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1080/13688790.2018.1443671 |title=Remembering German-Australian colonial entanglement: An introduction |date=2018 |last1=Barrett |first1=Lindsay |last2=Eckstein |first2=Lars |last3=Hurley |first3=Andrew Wright |last4=Schwarz |first4=Anja |journal=Postcolonial Studies |volume=21 |pages=1–5 }}
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1071/RS11002 |title=Neumayer, Humboldt and the search for a global physics |date=2011 |last1=Home |first1=R.W. |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria |volume=123 |page=2 }}
* Douglas Morrison, "Georg Neumayer's magnetic survey of the colony of Victoria 1858-1864," ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria'', 123 (1) 2011, pp.&nbsp;48–61.
*{{Dictionary of Australian Biography|First=Georg Balthasar von|Last=Neumayer|shortlink=0-dict-biogN-O.html#neumayer1}}

==External links==
* [http://www.awi.de/en/infrastructure/stations/neumayer_station/ Hidden in ice and snow - the Neumayer Station in the Antarctic]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070831175557/http://www.sciencevictoria.org.au/index1.htm The Royal Society of Victoria].
* [http://www.burkeandwills.net.au/ Burke & Wills Web] A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Burke & Wills Expedition.
* [http://www.burkeandwills.org/ The Burke & Wills Historical Society] The Burke & Wills Historical Society.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neymayer, Georg Von}}
[[Category:Hydrographers]]
[[Category:German geophysicists]]
[[Category:1826 births]]
[[Category:1909 deaths]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Cullum Geographical Medal]]
[[Category:People from Kirchheimbolanden]]
[[Category:Foreign members of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:People from the Palatinate (region)]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian public servants]]
[[Category:19th-century Australian scientists]]
[[Category:Australian oceanographers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Cothenius Medal]]