Otto Heckmann

Otto Heckmann
Born	June 23, 1901(1901-06-23) Opladen
Died	May 13, 1983(1983-05-13) (aged 81) Regensburg
Nationality	Germany
Fields	astronomy
Institutions	Hamburg Observatory
Notable awards	James Craig Watson Medal in 1961 Bruce Medal in 1964

Otto Hermann Leopold Heckmann (June 23, 1901 – May 13, 1983) was a German astronomer.

He directed the Hamburg Observatory from 1941 to 1962, after which he became the first director of the European Southern Observatory.^[1]He actively contributed to the creation of the third issue of the Astronomische Gesellschaft Katalog. He also contributed to cosmology based on the fundamentals of general relativity, and wrote the book Theorien der Kosmologie.

He won the James Craig Watson Medal in 1961 and the Bruce Medal in 1964.

Heckmann also served as President of the International Astronomical Union in 1967, and following a Polish request and under the impression of German acts in Poland during World War II, made the controversial decision to hold an Extraordinary IAU General Assembly in February 1973 in Warsaw, Poland, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Nicolaus Copernicus, shortly after the regular 1973 GA was held in Australia.

The asteroid 1650 Heckmann is named after him.

Works

• Theorien der Kosmologie. Berlin: Springer, 1942 und 1968
• Sterne, Kosmos, Weltmodelle. München: Piper, 1976 (auch dtv-Taschenbuch)

External links

• Bruce Medal page
• Awarding of the Bruce Medal: PASP 76 (1964) 135

Obituaries

• MitAG 60 (1983) 9 (in German)
• QJRAS 25 (1984) 374

References

1. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica, Otto Heckmann

Persondata
Name	Heckmann, Otto
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 23, 1901
Place of birth
Date of death	May 13, 1983
Place of death