4.2 Professor in Groningen
53
Fig. 4.4 Nicolaus Mulerius (1564–1630), who was the first to teach astronomy in Groningen. University Museum Groningen [43]
and was very knowledgeable in mechanics, but not primarily an astronomer.
It is possible that he was chosen in second place for tactical reasons, in case
the curators or the minister would not agree with the first choice. The other
three were astronomers and this would prevent the final choice to be one of
those. Among these was Valentiner, Kapteyn’s predecessor as observator in
Leiden, and the other two were Ernst Emil Hugo Becker (1843–1912) of
the Babelsberg Sternwarte near Berlin and (Ritter) Hugo Hans von Seeliger
(1849–1924), whom we will meet again later. He had worked at the Bonner
Sternwarte until 1873 and now taught astronomy at the University of Leipzig.
The curators did not accept the nomination completely and at the end of
December sent a nomination to the minister to appoint Kapteyn as professor
of astronomy, statistics and theoretical mechanics, with Becker in second place.
This too may have been tactical, because the minister was unlikely to prefer a
German to a Dutchman, especially if no observatory would be available, at least
for the time being. It is very likely that Kapteyn’s nomination in Groningen
53
Fig. 4.4 Nicolaus Mulerius (1564–1630), who was the first to teach astronomy in Groningen. University Museum Groningen [43]
and was very knowledgeable in mechanics, but not primarily an astronomer.
It is possible that he was chosen in second place for tactical reasons, in case
the curators or the minister would not agree with the first choice. The other
three were astronomers and this would prevent the final choice to be one of
those. Among these was Valentiner, Kapteyn’s predecessor as observator in
Leiden, and the other two were Ernst Emil Hugo Becker (1843–1912) of
the Babelsberg Sternwarte near Berlin and (Ritter) Hugo Hans von Seeliger
(1849–1924), whom we will meet again later. He had worked at the Bonner
Sternwarte until 1873 and now taught astronomy at the University of Leipzig.
The curators did not accept the nomination completely and at the end of
December sent a nomination to the minister to appoint Kapteyn as professor
of astronomy, statistics and theoretical mechanics, with Becker in second place.
This too may have been tactical, because the minister was unlikely to prefer a
German to a Dutchman, especially if no observatory would be available, at least
for the time being. It is very likely that Kapteyn’s nomination in Groningen