Johann Von 1805-1879 Lamont

LAMONT, JOHANN VON (1805-1879), Scottish-German astronomer and magnetician, was born at Braemar, Aberdeen shire, on Dec. 13, i8o5. He was sent at the age of twelve to be educated at the Scottish monastery in Regensburg. His strong bent for scientific studies was recognized by the head of the monastery, P. Deasson, on whose recommendation he was ad mitted in 1827 to the then new observatory of Bogenhausen (near Munich), where he worked under J. Soldner. After the death of his chief in 1835 he was appointed director of the observatory. In 1852 he became professor of astronomy at the university of Munich, and held both these posts till his death on Aug. 6, 1879. Lamont was a member of many learned corporations. Among his contributions to astronomy may be noted his eleven zone catalogues of 34,674 stars, his measurements, in of nebulae and clusters, and his determination of the mass of Uranus from observations of its satellites (Mem. Astron. Soc. xi. 51,

1838). A magnetic observatory was equipped at Bogenhausen in 1840 through his initiative; he executed comprehensive magnetic surveys 1849-180; announced the magnetic decennial period in 185o, and his discovery of earth-currents in 1862. His Handbuch des Erdmagnetismus (Berlin, 1849) is a standard work on the subject.

See Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (S. Gunther) ; V. J. Schrift, Astr. Gesellschaft, xv. 6o ; Monthly Notices Roy. Astr. Society, xl. 203; Nature, xx. 425 ; Quart. Journal Meteor. Society, vi. 72 ; Roy. Roy. Society of Edinburgh, x. 358; The Times (Aug. 12, 1879) ; Sir F. Ronalds's Cat. of Books relating to Electricity and Magnetism, pp. 281-283 ; Royal Society's Cat. of Scientific Papers, vols. iii. vii.