Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1 July 1742 – 24 February 1799) was an 18th-century German scientist, satirist and Anglophile. As a scientist, he was the first to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics in Germany. Today he is remembered for his notebooks published posthumously, which he himself called "waste books", using the English bookkeeping term. Lichtenberg is the inventor of the German "Aphorismus". Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (756 × 756 pixel, file size: 100 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) +/- Other versions Also from en. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events January 24 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland (federal state) of Hessen in Germany. ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Göttingen marketplace with old city hall, Gänseliesel fountain and pedestrian zone Göttingen ( ) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events January 24 - Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... List of satirists below - writers, cartoonists and others known for their involvement in satire - humourous social criticism. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Experimental physics is the part of physics that deals with experiments and observations pertaining to natural/physical phenomena, as opposed to theoretical physics. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... It has been suggested that Online bookkeeping be merged into this article or section. ...

Life

Lichtenberg was the youngest of eighteen children of a pastor of the same name. His father, ascending through the ranks of the church hierarchy, eventually became superintendent for Darmstadt. Unusually for a priest in those times, he seems to have possessed a fair amount of scientific knowledge. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg was educated at his parent's house until ten years of age, when he joined the Lateinschule in Darmstadt. His intelligence and wit became obvious at a very early age. He wanted to study mathematics, but his family could not afford to pay for lessons. In 1762 his mother applied to Ludwig VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, who granted sufficient funds. In 1763, Lichtenberg entered Göttingen University, where in 1769 he became extraordinary professor of physics, and six years later ordinary professor. He held this post till his death. A pastor is a minister or priest of a Christian church. ... Superintendent may refer to: Superintendent (education), an education executive or administrator Superintendent (police), a police rank Superintendent (United States Air Force), a United States Air Force position In buildings, a manager, a maintenance or repair person, a custodian or janitor. ... A Lateinschule, that is latin school, was the primary or grammar school of earlier times in Germany. ... Landgrave Louis VIII Ludwig VIII Landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt (5 April 1691 - 17 October 1768) was the son of Ernest Louis of Hessen-Darmstadt and Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach. ... The Georg-August University of Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, often called the Georgia Augusta) was founded in 1734 by George II, King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, and opened in 1737. ... The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ... Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the science concerned with the discovery and characterization of universal laws which govern matter, energy, space, and time. ... The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ...

Lichtenberg became a hunchback owing to a malformation of the spine. This left him unusually short, even by eighteenth-century standards. Over time this malformation grew worse, ultimately affecting even his breathing. Kyphosis, in general terms, is a curvature of the upper spine. ... The vertebral column seen from the side Different regions (curvatures) of the vertebral column The vertebral column (backbone or spine) is a column of vertebrae situated in the dorsal aspect of the abdomen. ...

One of the first scientists to introduce experiments with apparatus in their lectures, Lichtenberg was a most popular and respected figure in the European intellectual circles of his time. He maintained good relations with most of the great figures of that era, including Goethe and Kant. In 1784 Alessandro Volta visited Göttingen especially to see the man and his experiments. The eminent mathematician Karl Friedrich Gauss was one of the hearers of his lectures. In 1793 he was elected a member of the Royal Society. In the scientific method, an experiment (Latin: ex-+-periri, of (or from) trying), is a set of actions concerning phenomena. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian philosopher, generally regarded as one of Europes most influential thinkers and the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment. ... Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta (February 18, 1745 - March 5, 1827) was an Italian physicist known especially for the development of the electric battery in 1800. ... Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (Gauß) (April 30, 1777 - February 23, 1855) was a legendary German mathematician, astronomer and physicist with a very wide range of contributions; he is considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. ... The premises of The Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ...

As a physicist, today he is remembered for his investigations in electricity, for discovering branching discharge patterns on dielectrics now called Lichtenberg figures. In 1777, he built a large Electrophorus in order to generate static electricity through induction. With it, he discovered the basic principle of modern Xerography copy machine technology. This discovery was also the forerunner of modern day Plasma Physics. By discharging a high voltage point near an insulator, he was able to record the resulting radial pattern in fixed dust. The Lichtenberg figures are considered today to be examples of fractals. Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... The electrons in the molecules shift toward the positively charged left plate. ... Lichtenberg figures are named after the German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, who originally discovered and studied them. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... For the genus of fish family Electrophoridae, see electric eel An electrophorus is a single-plate capacitor used to produce imbalances of electric charge via the proces of electrostatic induction. ... Static electricity is a class of phenomena involving the net charge present on an object; typically referring to charged object with voltages of sufficient magnitude to produce visible attraction, repulsion, and sparks. ... Look up induction in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Chester F. Carlson Xerography (or Electrophotography) is a photocopying technique developed by Chester Carlson in 1938 and patented on October 6, 1942. ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... A Plasma lamp In physics and chemistry, a plasma is an ionized gas, and is usually considered to be a distinct phase of matter. ... International safety symbol Caution, risk of electric shock (ISO 3864), colloquially known as high voltage symbol. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... A fractal is a geometric object which can be divided into parts, each of which is similar to the original object. ...

He was one of the first to introduce Benjamin Franklin's lightning rod to Germany by installing such devices to his house in Göttingen and his garden sheds. He also proposed the standardized paper size system used all over the world today (except in the US and Canada), known as ISO 216, which has A4 as the most commonly used size.^[1] Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... ISO 216 specifies international standard (ISO) paper sizes, used in most countries in the world today. ...

Invited by his students, he visited England twice, from Easter to early summer 1770 and from August 1774 to Christmas 1775, where he was received cordially by George III and Queen Charlotte. He led the King through the royal observatory in Richmond, upon which the king proposed that he become professor of philosophy. He also met with participants of Cook's voyages. Great Britain impressed him, and he became a well-known Anglophile after the visits. Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate... George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... Queen Charlotte was the name of at least three women: Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III of the United Kingdom. ... Richmond is a suburb and the principal settlement of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, England. ... British explorer James Cook is most noted for having discovered Australia and Hawaii. ...

He had many romances. Most of the women were from poor families. In 1777 he met Maria Stechard, then aged 13, who lived with the professor permanently after 1780. She died in 1782.^[2] In the following year he met the 22-year-old Margarethe Kellner. He married her in 1789, in order to give her a pension, as he thought he was to die soon. She gave him six children, and outlived him by 49 years. A pension is a steady income given to a person (usually after retirement). ...

Lichtenberg was prone to procrastination. He failed to launch the first ever hydrogen balloon, and although he always dreamed of writing a novel à la Fielding's Tom Jones, he never finished more than a few pages. He died at the age of 56, after a short illness. Procrastination is the deferment or avoidance of an action or task to a later time. ... A scientific balloon being launched near Lynn Lake in Manitoba, Canada. ... Henry Fielding (April 22, 1707 – October 8, 1754) was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humor and satirical prowess and as the author of the novel Tom Jones. ... The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (often known simply as Tom Jones) is a comic novel by Henry Fielding. ...

Waste books

Lichtenberg's monument at the marketplace in Göttingen. This "Monument" is life size, and from the rubbish bin nearby it can be discerned that Lichtenberg was about 155 cm

The "waste books" (Lichtenberg rendered it roughly as Sudelbücher in German) are the notebooks he kept from his student days until the end of his life. Each volume was accorded a letter of the alphabet from A, which begun in 1765, to L, which broke off at Lichtenberg's death in 1799. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (685x1833, 360 KB) Summary author: Holger Gruber source: http://de. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (685x1833, 360 KB) Summary author: Holger Gruber source: http://de. ...

These notebooks first became known to the world after the man's death, when the first and second editions of Lichtenbergs Vermischte Schriften (1800-06 and 1844-53) were published by his sons and brothers. Since the initial publications, however, notebooks G and H, and most of notebook K, were destroyed or disappeared. Those missing parts are believed to contain sensitive materials. The manuscripts of the remaining notebooks are now preserved in Göttingen University.

The notebooks contain quotations that struck Lichtenberg, titles of books to read, autobiographical sketches, and short or long reflections. It is those reflections that help Lichtenberg earn his posthumous fame. Today he is regarded as one of the best aphorists in the Western intellectual history. An aphorism is a wise saying that bears repetition. ...

Some scholars have attempted to distil a system of thought out of Lichtenberg's scattered musings. However, Lichtenberg was not a professional philosopher, and had no need to present, or to have, any consistent philosophy.

The waste books nevertheless reveal a critical and analytical way of thinking and emphasize on experimental evidence in physics, through which he became one of the early founders and advocates of modern scientific methodology.

„Je mehr sich bei Erforschung der Natur die Erfahrungen und Versuche häufen, desto schwankender werden die Theorien. Es ist aber immer gut sie nicht gleich deswegen aufzugeben. Denn jede Hypothese, die gut war, dient wenigstens die Erscheinungen bis auf ihre Zeit gehörig zusammen zu denken und zu behalten. Man sollte die widersprechenden Erfahrungen besonders niederlegen, bis sie sich hinlänglich angehäuft haben um es der Mühe wert zu machen ein neues Gebäude aufzuführen.“ (Lichtenberg: Sudelbuch JII/1602)

„The more experience and experiments are accumulated during the exploration of nature, the more faltering its theories become. It is always good though not to abandon them instantly. For every hypothesis which used to be good at least serves the purpose of duly summarizing and keeping all phenomena until its own time. One should lay down the conflicting experience separately, until it has accumulated sufficiently to justify the efforts necessary to edifice a new theory.“ (Lichtenberg: waste book JII/1602)

The reflections also include keen observations on human nature, à la the 17th-century French moralists.

Schopenhauer admired Lichtenberg's notebooks greatly. He called Lichtenberg one of those who "think ... for their own instruction", who are "genuine thinkers for themselves in both senses of the words".^[3]Other admirers of Lichtenberg's notebooks include Nietzsche, Freud and Wittgenstein.^[4] Lichtenberg is not read by many outside Germany. Leo Tolstoy held Lichtenberg's writings in high esteem, expressing his perplexity of "why the Germans of the present day neglect this writer so much."^[5] The Chinese scholar and wit Qian Zhongshu quotes the Waste books in his works several times.^[6] A crater on the Moon, Crater Lichtenberg, has been named in his honour. Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 – September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ) was a German philosopher. ... Sigmund Freud (born Sigismund Schlomo Freud) May 6, 1856 – September 23, 1939; (IPA: ) was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who co-founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Wittgenstein and Hitler in school photograph taken at the Linz Realschule in 1903. ... Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: , IPA:  ), commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy (September 9 [O.S. August 28] 1828 – November 20 [O.S. November 7] 1910) was a Russian novelist, writer, essayist, philosopher, Christian anarchist, pacifist, educational reformer, moral thinker, and an influential member of the Tolstoy family. ... Qian Zhongshu (November 21, 1910 – December 19, 1998) was a Chinese literary scholar, writer and polyglot, famous for his burning wit and formiddable erudition. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... Lichtenberg is an isolated lunar crater located in the western part of the Oceanus Procellarum. ...

Other works

As a satirist, Lichtenberg takes high rank among the German writers of the 18th century. His biting wit involved him in many controversies with well-known contemporaries, such as the Swiss physiognomist Johann Kaspar Lavater whose science of physiognomy he ridiculed, and Johann Heinrich Voss, whose views on Greek pronunciation called forth a powerful satire, Über die Pronunciation der Schöpse des alten Griechenlandes. Johann Kaspar Lavater (November 15, 1741 - January 2, 1801), was a poet and physiognomist. ... Physiognomy (Gk. ... Johann Heinrich Voß (Voss) (February 20, 1751 – March 29, 1826), German poet and translator, was born at Sommersdorf in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the son of a farmer. ...

In 1777, Lichtenberg opposed the apparent misrepresentation of science by Jacob Philadelphia. Lichtenberg considered him to be a magician, not a physicist, and created a satirical poster that was intended to prevent Philadelphia from performing his exhibition in Göttingen. The placard, called "Lichtenberg's Avertissement", described extravagant and miraculous tricks that were to be performed. As a result, Philadelphia left the city without a performance. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Lichtenbergs Avertissement, written by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, is a poster intended to deter the citizens of Göttingen, Germany, from attending the performance of Jacob Philadelphia in 1777. ...

In 1784 he took over the publication of the textbook Anfangsgründe der Naturlehre ("Foundations of the Natural Sciences") from his friend and colleague Johann Christian Erxleben upon his premature death in 1777. Until 1794, three further editions had followed. For many years, the Anfangsgründe remained the standard textbook for physics in German.

He contributed to the Göttinger Taschen Calender from 1778 onwards, and to the Göttingisches Magazin der Wissenschaften und Literatur, which he edited for three years (1780-1782) with J. G. A. Forster. The Göttinger Taschen Calendar, beside being a usual Calendar for everyday usage, contained not only short writings on natural phenomena and new scientific discoveries (which would be termed popular science today), but also essays in which he contests quackery and superstition. In the spirit of enlightenment, he strives to educate the common people to use logic, wit and the power of their own senses. Image:Georg Forster masterbator. ...

Based on his visits to England, his Briefe aus England, with admirable descriptions of Garrick's acting, are the most attractive of his writings published during his lifetime. He also published in 1794-1799 an Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche in which he described the satirical details in William Hogarth's prints. Portrait of David Garrick David Garrick (February 19, 1717 – January 20, 1779) was an English actor, dramatist, theatrical producer and theatrical manager, and a friend and pupil of Samuel Johnson. ... William Hogarth (November 10, 1697 – October 26, 1764) was a major English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, and editorial cartoonist who has been credited as a pioneer in western sequential art. ...

Selected bibliography

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Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

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Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

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• Briefe aus England, 1776-78
• Über Physiognomik, wider die Physiognomen, 1778
• Göttingisches Magazin der Wissenschaften und Litteratur, 1780-85 (ed. by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg and Georg Forster)
• Über die Pronunciation der Schöpse des alten Griechenlandes, 1782
• Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, 1794-1799

Complete works in German

• Schriften und Briefe, 1968-72 (4 vols., ed. by Wolfgang Promies)

English translations

• The Lichtenberg Reader, 1959 (trans. and ed. by Franz H. Mautner and Henry Hatfield)
• The World of Hogarth. Lichtenberg's Commentaries on Hogarth's Engravings, 1966 (trans. by Innes and Gustav Herdan)
• Hogarth on High Life. The Marriage à la Mode Series, from Georg Christoph Lichtenberg's Commentaries, 1970 (trans. and ed. by Arthur S. Wensinger and W. B. Coley)
• Aphorisms, 1990 (trans. with an introduction and notes by R. J. Hollingdale), ISBN 0-14-044519-6, reprinted as The Waste Books, 2000

Reginald John (R.J.) Hollingdale (October 20, 1930 - September 28, 2001) was best known as a biographer, and a translator of German philosophy and literature, especially the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Goethe, E.T.A. Hoffman, Lichtenberg, and Schopenhauer. ...

Notes

1. ^ In one of his letters dated October 25, 1786 to Johann Beckmann.
2. ^ The relation between the man and his "little daughter" was made into a novel by Gert Hofmann. The work has been translated by his son Michael Hofmann into English, with the title Lichtenberg and the Little Flower Girl.
3. ^ Arthur Schopenhauer, trans. R.J. Hollingdale, Essays and Arphorisms, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1970, p. 93.
4. ^ For Lichtenberg's influences on German writers, see Dieter Lamping, Lichtenbergs literarisches Nachleben, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1992.
5. ^ Carl Brinitzer, trans. Bernard Smith, A Reasonable Rebel, New York: Macmillan, 1960, p. 194.
6. ^ For example, in his essay Zhongguo Shi Yu Zhongguo Hua (中国诗与中国画 "Chinese poetry and Chiense paintings").

Gert Hofmann (January 29, 1931-July 1, 1993) was a German writer and professor of German literature. ... Michael Hofmann (born 1957, Freiburg, West Germany) is a German poet and award-winning translator. ...

External links

• The Lichtenberg Society
• Original texts at the German Projekt Gutenberg
• Compilations of biographies and images
• Brief biography at Kirjasto (Pegasos)
• Book review: G. C. Lichtenberg: a "spy on humanity"
• Book review: Aphorisms by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
• Georg Christoph Lichtenberg : Experimental Physics from the Spirit of Aphorism (PDF)