Abstract
IT is always a painful duty to review the life work of those who have recently passed away, to estimate the position their names will occupy in the history of a science, and to survey the grounds on which their reputation will finally rest. But in the case of Dr. Winnecke, whose death was recorded last week, the task becomes both painful and difficult. Thirty years ago he occupied a prominent position among continental astronomers, and was intimately connected with the onward growth and development of the science in many important directions. His enterprise and ability were everywhere acknowledged, and a long career of work and usefulness seemed before him. But while he was still a comparatively young man, the state of his health prevented him from adding to the reputation he had established, and to-day his name is perhaps little more than amemoiy to many, who, interested in newer problems and more sensational inquiries, may possibly undervalue the work of an older school, which occupied itself mainly in the astronomy of position. But wherever a just and comprehensive view of astronomy as a whole is taken, Winnecke's work will be remembered with gratitude and admiration.
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P., W. Dr. Friedrich A. T. Winnecke. Nature 57, 155–156 (1897). https://doi.org/10.1038/057155a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/057155a0