The Resume

(August 13, 1814-June 21, 1874)
Born in Medelpad, Sweden
Astronomer and physicist
Chair of the Physics Department at Uppsala University (1858-74)
Considered a pioneer in the science of spectroscopy
Published 'Researches on the Solar Spectrum' (1868) listing over one thousand lines in the spectrum of the Sun

Why he might be annoying:

His last name contains a diacritical mark over the A and an umlaut over the o, both of which screw up the AIA search engine.
His students found him reserved and inaccessible.
His atlas of the solar spectrum had a systematic error caused by using a meter standard that was too small.
The error was not corrected until ten years after his death, when his collaborator, Robert Thalen, published an updated edition (1884).

Why he might not be annoying:

Perhaps appropriately, he was born during a solar eclipse.
He discovered hydrogen in the spectra of the Sun and other stars.
His spectroscopic study of the aurora borealis disproved the then-prevailing theory that it was caused by sunlight reflecting off ice crystals in the upper atmosphere (1867)
He is the namesake for the angstrom, a unit of measurement equal to 10^-10 (0.0000000001) meters.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 19th Century Scientists
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 92]
• I Earned a Doctorate
• My Name Became a Unit of Measurement
• Profiles 57001-57250 (Ranked: 57154)
• Scientists
• Weights and Measure Names

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 0% Annoying