Kaiser, Franz

Astronomer, meteorologist

Born: 25.04.1891 in Wiesbaden

died: 13.03.1962 in Wiesbaden

Attending a secondary school with a focus on mathematics and science probably set the tone for Kaiser's later career choice. In 1910, he began studying astronomy and meteorology in Heidelberg. He became a scientific assistant at the Baden State Observatory in 1912.

As part of his photographic studies, he discovered a total of 75 asteroids, 21 of which were named after cities and people important to him; "Wisibada", "Mattiaca", "Moguntia" and "Gutenberga" are among them. Kaiser's groundbreaking work "On the interpolation method in the measurement of celestial images" led to his doctorate at Heidelberg University in 1914. Kaiser's life was characterized by many scientific activities at observatories and weather stations. From 1914-18 he worked as a meteorologist in the army weather service and from 1921-24 at the observatory in Danzig.

In Wiesbaden, he taught astronomy, physics and mathematics as a lecturer at the Volkshochschule Wiesbaden e.V. and founded the URANIA Wiesbaden astronomical society in 1925, of which he was chairman until his death. From 1946 to 1949, Kaiser worked as a lecturer in astronomy at the University of Mainz. The first observatory set up by Kaiser in Wiesbaden was located in the Oranienschule.