Frequent mention of Alexander Dallas Bache (1806–1867) is found in the published correspondence of Gauss. He was a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin and carried a letter of introduction from Humboldt when he visited Gauss in January, 1838. Bache served as president of Girard College from 1836 to 1842. At the time he was seeking Gauss’ advice on plans for the college. Bache served as director of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1843–1867.
Two budding American classical scholars became friends of Gauss during their student days in Göttingen. They were attracted to him because of his greatness and his vast classical learning. The first one was George Martin Lane (1823–1897), Latinist of Harvard University, 1851–1894, Lane was also widely known for his ballad “The Lay of the Lone Fishball.” The other was Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve (1831–1924), who studied in Göttingen about 1850. He became the leading Greek scholar in America, serving the University of Virginia and later The Johns Hopkins University.
Gauss was on friendly terms with Nathaniel Bowditch (1773–1838), American astronomer and translator of Laplace’s Mécanique céleste. During his American tour Joseph Gauss visited Bowditch in July, 1836.
There were several other Americans with whom Gauss was in close contact and whose work he followed with interest: Elias Loomis (1811–1889), the mathematician, who served Western Reserve University, City College of New York, and Yale University; James Pollard Espy (1785–1860), the meteorologist, who was known as the “storm king” for his theory of storms enunciated in 1835; the astronomer James Melville Gilliss (1811–1865); Benjamin Silliman (1779–1864), chemist and geologist of Yale University, whose American Journal of Science and Arts (better known as Silliman’s Journal) Gauss used to read; Major General Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel (1809–1862), who during his professorship at Cincinnati College, 1836–1859, did much to popularize astronomy; Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806–1873), oceanographer known as the “pathfinder of the seas”; Maria Mitchell (1818–1889), famed astronomer of Vassar College; and Benjamin Peirce (1809–1880), the Harvard mathematician.
The American who became one of Gauss’ favorite disciples was Benjamin Apthorp Gould (1824–1896), who graduated from Harvard in 1844. Gould went to Europe for study soon thereafter, arriving in Berlin in May, 1846; he worked there for a while under Encke, but was not satisfied. His fervent desire was to study under Gauss. In Berlin he became an intimate friend of Eisenstein. On March 23, 1847, he sent Gauss a highly favorable letter of recommendation written for him by Humboldt. Gauss immediately agreed to accept him as a student, and he arrived in Göttingen the first week of April, 1847. Gould received his doctorate in astronomy under Gauss in 1848 and then visited many of the observatories of Europe, serving for a time as assistant at Altona Under Schumacher. Gauss wrote for Gould a warm letter of recommendation, which he used when he returned to America in 1849 and was seeking a position. That same year Gould established the Astronomical Journal at Cambridge, Massachusetts, maintaining it until it was suspended on account of the Civil War. In 1851 Gould entered the service of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, where his accomplishments were outstanding. When the transatlantic cable had been completed in 1866, he established an observatory at Valentia, Ireland, and made the first determinations of transatlantic longitude by telegraphic cable. From 1856 until 1859 Gould was director of the Dudley Observatory at Albany, New York. In 1870 he went to South America and established a national observatory for Argentina at Cordova, where he remained until 1885 when he returned to Cambridge, where he re-established his Astronomical Journal. Gauss was highly pleased by the first copies of this journal, which Gould sent him in 1849 and 1850. Gould wrote hearty congratulations to Gauss on the occasion of his golden jubilee in 1849, as well as condolences on the death of Schumacher (1850) and Goldschmidt (1851).
Gould revisited Europe in late 1851 and had the pleasure of seeing Gauss again. He was disturbed because his journal was not doing well in his absence. On September 9, 1853, Gould wrote Gauss of his extensive travels in America, covering 11,000 miles. On his return he found eighty unanswered letters on his desk. He told Gauss that he kept informed of his health through Americans returning from Germany. In the Coast Survey he took over the work of the late Sears Walker. The work did not exactly please him, but the pay enabled him to keep the journal going. In the preceding two years he had spent $1,100 for the journal. His salary was $1,500 with traveling expenses, so that he could give $600 per year to the journal. On February 13, 1855, Gould wrote a touching letter to Gauss concerning his last illness and stating that he had no hope of seeing him again in this world. The letter arrived in Göttingen after Gauss’ death.
William Cranch Bond (1789–1859), the eminent American astronomer, was a friend of Gauss. In 1839, Bond supervised the construction of the Harvard observatory and became its director, serving in that capacity until his death in 1859. He was the inventor of a method of measuring time to a very small fraction of a second and among the first to employ photography in stellar observations.
Bond’s son, George Phillips Bond (1825–1865), succeeded his father as director of the Harvard observatory. Young Bond and his father discovered the satellite of Neptune and the eighth ring of Saturn. He published a work on the rings of Saturn and the orbit of Hyperion, and won a gold medal for work on Donati’s comet. George P. Bond kept a diary of his European tour in 185l, and the following entry is dated Leipzig, September 2: “. . . Encke receives but thirteen hundred thalers, Gauss but one thousand thalers. Doctor Gould, he [D’Arrest]105 told me, was probably to take Doctor Goldschmidt’s place as second Professor of Astronomy at Göttingen, Gauss being the first.”
On September 4, 1851, George Bond was in Göttingen and made this entry in his diary:
At ten I went to the observatory to see Professor Gauss. It is a little singular that the landlord should not have known where he lived. He knew Doctor Goldschmidt, or rather had known him (died Feb. 1851, aged 44). Gauss had just left the house, to be home at eleven. I walked half a mile or more into the country to spend the time, returning at eleven. He had not come back. I returned to my room,106 and presently . . . some one knocked at my door, and in walked Doctor Gould, who, singularly enough, had arrived from Altona at two in the morning, and I at four. Our rooms were almost opposite to each other. He appears well, and must have improved since leaving home. At dinner there were six Americans, four students, besides Doctor Gould and myself. After dinner I repaired once more to the observatory, and spent half an hour in conversation with Gauss, and gave him the last daguerreotype of the moon I had left. It was the best of the first series. He showed me daguerreotypes of his son and grandson now living in America—in St. Louis; he has another son there also. He showed me his library, which can scarcely contain above 700 or 1,000 volumes.107 He had Cooper’s works; Merry Mount, a history of the country about Boston before its settlement, published in 1849; also Frothingham’s Siege of Boston, with which he seemed much taken. He brought out also Dr. Bowditch’s translation of the Mécanique Céleste.
Shortly before leaving [sic!] he spoke of Mr. Peirce’s position with respect to what he said about the discovery [of Neptune] being accidental. He thought that the calculations of both Adams and Leverrier rested on an “infirm” basis, inasmuch as the assumed distances were so wide of the truth. That the discovery was accidental, and might have failed because the planet could have been 30° from the predicted place. . . .
Staid [sic!] up in Doctor Gould’s room until near one o’clock in the morning, talking of various subjects. He had just seen Gauss, who had intimated to him the probability of his taking his professorship after his death. This is certainly no small honor, offered as it is to an American, and by such a man as Gauss, while there are so many in Germany who would be glad of the situation, D’Arrest among others, whom Doctor Gould mentioned as equally fitted for it.
Gould had been embarrassed because Peirce published on the distribution of cometary orbits and included material on the unequal
division of planes which Gould had received from Gauss. Gould communicated orally to Peirce, who had not given credit.
For many years Gauss corresponded with Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler (1770–1843), a Swiss who migrated to America in 1805 and in 1807 became founder and first superintendent of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, during the administration of Thomas Jefferson. Hassler later held professorships at West Point and Union College. From 1811 to 1815 Hassler was on an official mission in Europe, procuring instruments, books, and equipment for the survey. In later years he also served as superintendent of the United States bureau of weights and measures. On August 31, 1829, Hassler wrote Gauss a letter in which he reminisced about his student days in Göttingen, and at the same time sent some of his works by one Thomas Cooper of New York City, who was then traveling in Germany. Joseph Gauss visited Hassler in 1836 in Washington, but unfortunately Hassler was ill at the time. He presented to Hassler two of his father’s publications. The same year Hassler gave one of his assistants, Edward Blunt, a letter of introduction to Gauss. A. D. Bache also carried such a letter when he visited Göttingen in 1838. By the fall of 1837 Hassler was using seven Gaussian heliotropes, produced by Apel. Gauss had written a favorable review of Hassler’s logarithmic tables in 1831. In 1836 Gauss wrote to Hassler and invited him to cooperate in magnetic observations, but technical difficulties and occupation with other tasks prevented Hassler’s participation.
Gauss’ interest in America was highly intensified during the last two and a half decades of his life because it was the home of his two younger sons and their families. He was quite pleased at their material progress and financial security. Writing to Gerling in June 23, 1846, and discussing Eugene’s business interests, he stated: “Life in America is capable of waking talents which would never emerge in Europe.”
The reports which his son Joseph wrote Gauss during his tour of America in 1836 greatly astonished him as to the fabulous salaries people were earning, particularly the railroad builders. At least they seemed fabulous to him. Joseph wrote his father that he had gained the impression that almost every American was thinking only of making money and was greedily chasing after profits.
In 1837 Gauss and Olbers began to read rather amazing, sensational reports from America concerning the use of electricity for medical and locomotive purposes. Both were skeptical; their published correspondence contains much discussion of it. It furnished a topic of conversation when A. D. Bache visited Gauss in 1838. There was a report that electricity was being used in America to run a printing press. Another visitor to Gauss in 1837 enlarged upon the entire matter. This was Anthony Dumond Stanley (1810–1853), professor of mathematics at Yale University and intimate colleague of Benjamin Silliman, whose name had been involved in the reports. Stanley accompanied Gauss’ son Wilhelm on the journey to America and visited Olbers in Bremen on the way out. Gauss, in attempting to assess the truthfulness of the reports, quoted to Olbers a remark in Fenimore Cooper’s Notions on the Americans to the effect that in America there is not so much lying as elsewhere; he added, for Olbers’ benefit, that ‘one can lie much less than in Europe and still put out terribly strong lies, and in contrast to Cooper many maintain that Americans like to brag and exaggerate.”
An examination of calling cards kept by Gauss reveals that his visitors included Friedrich Ludolph Karl Leue, the university judge; C. P. Metropulos; Nikolaus von Fuss (1755–1825); Anders Jonas Angstrom (1814–1874), from 1839 until his death astronomer and physicist at the University of Uppsala; Philipp Schoenlein; Ad. Torstrick, cand, phil.108
Gauss always played a prominent role in the affairs of his university. The minutes of the meetings of the philosophical faculty disclose noteworthy contributions he made to its deliberations; he served as its dean from July S, 1833 to July 2, 1834; from July 3, 1841 to July 2, 1842; and from July 3, 1845, to July 2, 1846. There is a tradition that he refused to serve as rector of the university. He was a corresponding member, mathematical class. Royal Society of Sciences in Göttingen, from 1802 to 1807; from 1807 to 1855 he was ordentliches Mitglied. Gauss served as director of the Royal Society from May to Michaelmas 1831, and for the following academic years, 1833–1834, 1836–1837, 1839–1840, 1842–1843, 1845–1846, 1848–1849, 1851–1852, 1854 to his death. Weber succeeded Gauss as director. The position yielded special compensation. In 1852 Gauss had the honor of presiding at the sessions of the Royal Society celebrating the centennial of its founding. He used impeccable Latin in conferring degrees as dean.
On December 28, 1815, the Prince Regent at Hanover conferred on Gauss the Knight’s Cross of the Guelph Order. Gauss prized this order more highly than the many others he received. As a rule he did not wear them, but whenever the king or a member of the royal family visited Göttingen, he wore this one. On November 29, 1816, King George at Carlton House issued to Gauss the letters patent which granted him the title of Hofrat (court councilor).109
Among the many names Gauss considered when filling the vacancy left by Goldschmidt’s death in 1851 was that of Franz Friedrich Ernst Brünnow (1821–1891), who had become director of the observatory at Bilk in 1847. In 1854 he accepted the same position at the University of Michigan, then went to the University of Dublin in 1865 and became astronomer royal for Ireland. The position was given to Klinkerfues.
In 1802 the post of astronomer to the Academy of Sciences and of director of the observatory in St. Petersburg was to be filled. Pfaff drew the attention of Nikolaus von Fuss,110 for many years secretary of the St. Petersburg academy, to Gauss. Early in 1802 Fuss asked Pfaff to sound out Gauss on a possible call. In a long letter of September 5, 1802, Fuss issued to Gauss the formal offer of a position in St. Petersburg. At this, his protector, the Duke of Brunswick, laid plans to build him an observatory in his native city. But this plan never materialized. E. A. W. Zimmermann wrote to Fuss on January 20, 1803, that Gauss had decided to remain in Brunswick. After the political disasters of 1806 Gauss wrote to Fuss (October 20, 1806), inquiring if he still might come to St. Petersburg. Before the formal offer could be made, Brandes in Hanover sent him a call to Göttingen on July 25, 1807, and he accepted. Gauss’ election as a corresponding member of the academy in St. Petersburg on January 31, 1802, was on the basis of his work in astronomy. On March 24, 1824, he was unanimously elected a foreign honorary member of the academy, mathematical class. The fame of the Disquisitiones arithmeticae was specifically mentioned as a basis for this action.
In the spring of 1809 the chair of mathematics and astronomy at the new University of Dorpat became vacant because its holder, Professor Pfaff,111 was returning to Germany. On May 31, 1809, the council of the university elected Gauss to the place and commissioned Professor Parrot112 to write him and get his acceptance. Gauss wrote to Parrot on August 20, 1809, rejecting the offer, although leaving the door open for a future offer. He stated that the government did not wish him to leave Göttingen, but that it could make only vague promises of betterment and promotion in the future. At the time the university was more than five months in arrears with payment of salary. His real reasons for declining were plainly stated in the letter. He felt that the financial terms were not good enough, particularly as to widows’ pensions and travel allowance. He stated that he would have to buy new household furniture, since he could not ship his that far. Also, Gauss had some fear of the climate in Russia. However, his main reason for refusal of the offer was based on the fact that he desired more time for research.113 In Dorpat mathematics and astronomy were represented by one professor, and Gauss thought they should be separated. He wrote Parrot that he did not want to teach the ABC of mathematics, admitting at the same time that he was attracted by the large amount of money available for instruments and equipment. At the close of the letter to Parrot he recommended Schumacher for the position. However, the position was finally given to Johann Sigismund Huth, who had been a professor in Frankfurt on the Oder and in Kharkov. The separation of mathematics from astronomy at Dorpat, as suggested b
y Gauss, did not occur until 1820, but he never received another call from that institution. Gauss’ old friend and teacher J. M. C. Bartels became professor of mathematics there in 1820 and continued in that capacity until his death in 1836.
When the time came to fill the position left vacant by the death of Christian Friedrich Rüdiger (1760–1809), who had been astronomer at the University of Leipzig Observatory in the tower of the Pleissenburg since 1791, Gauss became interested in the place. He asked Olbers, who had visited there in 1806, for a report on it. The latter wrote Gauss that the observatory was poorly located and that not much could be done to improve it. Rüdiger had been unable to get sufficient appropriations. Olbers told Gauss that the few instruments set up were shaky and difficult to use. Some fine instruments donated by Count Brühl at London were still in crates. The observatory had a good library, and there were two secretaries.
In the summer of 1809 Gauss entered into correspondence with the Reverend Dr. Franz Volkmar Reinhard (1753–1812) of Dresden, court pastor and church councilor, who was in charge of filling the position. He offered Gauss a full professorship at a salary of 880 thalers plus 120 thalers allowance as rent for the residence attached to the observatory. He reminded Gauss that one could not get such a house in Leipzig at an annual rental of 120 thalers. Reinhard promised a liberal allowance annually for increasing the number of books in the observatory library and also promised to have the Brühl instruments mounted in a new building. He also reminded Gauss that the King of Saxony had already done much for the observatory, but that the matter could not be presented to him until it became clear what turn the Napoleonic war would take. Reinhard asked Gauss to declare himself ready to accept the call; he regretted that the salary was not as large as he had desired. According to him, the philosophical faculty had designated for Gauss primo loco as professor ordinarius novae fundationis. Reinhard also promised Gauss a couple of hundred thalers for moving and travel expenses. But Gauss did not accept the Leipzig offer; the only reason seems to have been that he merely desired to postpone a decision in order to see what turn the war would take.
Carl Friedrich Gauss, Titan of Science_A Study of His Life and Work Page 33