SAMUEL HEINRICH

See also:

• SAMUEL HEINRICH SCHWABE (1789–1875)

SCHWABE (1789–1875)  , German astronomer, was born on the 25th of October 1789 at Dessau, where he died on the 11th of April 1875 . At first an apothecary, he turned his attention to astronomy, and in 1826 commenced his observations on sun-spots . In 1843 he made the suggestion of a probable ten year period (i.e. that at every tenth year the number of spots reached a maximum), but it met with scant approval, and he continued his observations, which were afterwards utilized in 1851 by Humboldt in the third volume of his Kosmos . The periodicity of sun-spots is now fully recognized (see SUN); and to Schwabe is thus due the credit of one of the most important discoveries in astronomy . See H . H . Turner, Astronomical Discovery (1904) .