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[[File:John Dalton shaking hands with Gerrit Moll, 1834, thanking h Wellcome V0006734.jpg|thumb|Gerrit Moll (left) shakes hands with [[John Dalton]]]]
[[File:John Dalton shaking hands with Gerrit Moll, 1834, thanking h Wellcome V0006734.jpg|thumb|Gerrit Moll (left) shakes hands with [[John Dalton]]]]
'''Gerard Moll''', called '''Gerrit Moll''' (1785–1838) was a Dutch scientist and mathematician. A polymath in his interests, he published in four languages.<ref name="Pyenson1989">{{cite book|author=Lewis Pyenson|title=Empire of Reason: Exact Sciences in Indonesia, 1840-1940|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=hSs1m1GGko4C&pg=PA21|year=1989|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-08984-5|page=21}}</ref>
'''Gerard Moll''', called '''Gerrit Moll''' (1785–1838) was a Dutch scientist and mathematician. A polymath in his interests, he published in four languages.<ref name="Pyenson1989">{{cite book|author=Lewis Pyenson|title=Empire of Reason: Exact Sciences in Indonesia, 1840-1940|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSs1m1GGko4C&pg=PA21|year=1989|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-08984-5|page=21}}</ref>


==Life==
==Life==
From a family background in [[Amsterdam]] of commerce, Moll was drawn towards science.<ref name="BerkelHelden1999">{{cite book|author1=Klaas Van Berkel|author2=Albert Van Helden|author3=L. C. Palm|title=The History of Science in the Netherlands: Survey, Themes and Reference|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1jwjTsRu6AMC&pg=PA531|year=1999|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-10006-7|page=531}}</ref> His teacher at the [[Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam]] was [[Jean Henri van Swinden]]. He took up astronomy with Jan Frederik Keijser in 1801.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Huibert J. Zuidervaart|author2=Rob H. van Gent|title=Between Rhetoric and Reality: Instrumental Practices at the Astronomical Observatory of the Amsterdam Society 'Felix Meritis', 1786-1889|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=s3OYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA84|year=2013|publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren|isbn=978-90-8704-363-6|page=84}}</ref> In 1809 he was awarded a Candidaat degree by [[Leiden University]];<ref name="Kruit2014">{{cite book|author=Pieter C. van der Kruit|title=Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn: Born Investigator of the Heavens|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=aqJ3BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|date=18 November 2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-10876-6|page=29}}</ref><ref name="Springer">{{cite web|url=http://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-30400-7_967|title=Moll, Gerard - Springer|work=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers 2007|page=794|accessdate=14 April 2015}}</ref> and in 1810 he went to Paris, where he studied under [[Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre|Delambre]].<ref>{{cite book|author1=Huibert J. Zuidervaart|author2=Rob H. van Gent|title=Between Rhetoric and Reality: Instrumental Practices at the Astronomical Observatory of the Amsterdam Society 'Felix Meritis', 1786-1889|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=s3OYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA150|year=2013|publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren|isbn=978-90-8704-363-6|page=150}}</ref><ref name="Kruit2014"/> Moll is noted for his later animus against "Napoleonic science", the tradition of the revolutionary period in France.<ref>Robert Fox, ''Scientific Enterprise and the Patronage of Research in France 1800–70'', Minerva Vol. 11, No. 4 (October 1973), pp. 442–473, p. 445 note 16. Published by: Springer. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41820168</ref>
From a family background in [[Amsterdam]] of commerce, Moll was drawn towards science.<ref name="BerkelHelden1999">{{cite book|author1=Klaas Van Berkel|author2=Albert Van Helden|author3=L. C. Palm|title=The History of Science in the Netherlands: Survey, Themes and Reference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jwjTsRu6AMC&pg=PA531|year=1999|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-10006-7|page=531}}</ref> His teacher at the [[Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam]] was [[Jean Henri van Swinden]]. He took up astronomy with Jan Frederik Keijser in 1801.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Huibert J. Zuidervaart|author2=Rob H. van Gent|title=Between Rhetoric and Reality: Instrumental Practices at the Astronomical Observatory of the Amsterdam Society 'Felix Meritis', 1786-1889|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3OYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA84|year=2013|publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren|isbn=978-90-8704-363-6|page=84}}</ref> In 1809 he was awarded a Candidaat degree by [[Leiden University]];<ref name="Kruit2014">{{cite book|author=Pieter C. van der Kruit|title=Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn: Born Investigator of the Heavens|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqJ3BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA29|date=18 November 2014|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-319-10876-6|page=29}}</ref><ref name="Springer">{{cite web|url=http://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-30400-7_967|title=Moll, Gerard - Springer|work=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers 2007|page=794|accessdate=14 April 2015}}</ref> and in 1810 he went to Paris, where he studied under [[Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre|Delambre]].<ref name="Kruit2014"/><ref>{{cite book|author1=Huibert J. Zuidervaart|author2=Rob H. van Gent|title=Between Rhetoric and Reality: Instrumental Practices at the Astronomical Observatory of the Amsterdam Society 'Felix Meritis', 1786-1889|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3OYAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA150|year=2013|publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren|isbn=978-90-8704-363-6|page=150}}</ref> Moll is noted for his later animus against "Napoleonic science", the tradition of the revolutionary period in France.<ref>Robert Fox, ''Scientific Enterprise and the Patronage of Research in France 1800–70'', Minerva Vol. 11, No. 4 (October 1973), pp. 442–473, p. 445 note 16. Published by: Springer. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41820168</ref>


In 1812 Moll was appointed director at [[Utrecht Observatory]], a position he then held for 26 years; and in 1815 professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Utrecht, receiving an honorary Ph.D. (under [[Johannes Theodorus Rossijn]]).<ref name="Springer"/><ref name="Kruit2014"/> He became member of the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences|Royal Institute of the Netherlands]] in 1815.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00001928 |title=Gerard (Gerrit) Moll (1785 - 1838) |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |date= |accessdate=17 July 2015}}</ref>
In 1812 Moll was appointed director at [[Utrecht Observatory]], a position he then held for 26 years; and in 1815 professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Utrecht, receiving an honorary Ph.D. (under [[Johannes Theodorus Rossijn]]).<ref name="Kruit2014"/><ref name="Springer"/> He became member of the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences|Royal Institute of the Netherlands]] in 1815.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00001928 |title=Gerard (Gerrit) Moll (1785 - 1838) |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |date= |accessdate=17 July 2015}}</ref>


During the "declinist" controversy in British science around 1830, Moll spoke in praise of the British tradition, against the trend of increasing professionalisation.<ref name="Yeo2003">{{cite book|author=Richard Yeo|title=Defining Science: William Whewell, Natural Knowledge and Public Debate in Early Victorian Britain|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=UbFrozzH3PUC&pg=PA79|date=18 September 2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-54116-9|page=79}}</ref> A friend of [[Humphry Davy]] and [[Michael Faraday]], he wrote a pamphlet ''On The Alleged Decline of Science in England'' (1831), which Faraday edited, in reply to [[Charles Babbage]]'s ''On The Alleged Decline of Science in England'' (1830).<ref>Joseph Agassi, ''An Unpublished Paper of the Young Faraday'', Isis Vol. 52, No. 1 (Mar., 1961) , pp. 87-90, at p. 87. Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/228343</ref> In relation to claims that French scientists had tried to diminish the impact of Davy's work, Moll relayed unfounded allegations to Faraday.<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Knight|author2=David M. Knight|title=Sources for the History of Science, 1660-1914|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=aqM5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA85|year=1975|publisher=CUP Archive|page=85|id=GGKEY:07DR2AJ2N9B}}</ref>
During the "declinist" controversy in British science around 1830, Moll spoke in praise of the British tradition, against the trend of increasing professionalisation.<ref name="Yeo2003">{{cite book|author=Richard Yeo|title=Defining Science: William Whewell, Natural Knowledge and Public Debate in Early Victorian Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UbFrozzH3PUC&pg=PA79|date=18 September 2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-54116-9|page=79}}</ref> A friend of [[Humphry Davy]] and [[Michael Faraday]], he wrote a pamphlet ''On The Alleged Decline of Science in England'' (1831), which Faraday edited, in reply to [[Charles Babbage]]'s ''On The Alleged Decline of Science in England'' (1830).<ref>Joseph Agassi, ''An Unpublished Paper of the Young Faraday'', Isis Vol. 52, No. 1 (Mar., 1961) , pp. 87-90, at p. 87. Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/228343</ref> In relation to claims that French scientists had tried to diminish the impact of Davy's work, Moll relayed unfounded allegations to Faraday.<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Knight|author2=David M. Knight|title=Sources for the History of Science, 1660-1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqM5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA85|year=1975|publisher=CUP Archive|page=85|id=GGKEY:07DR2AJ2N9B}}</ref>


Mol; died of [[typhoid]] on 17 January 1838.<ref name="BerkelHelden1999"/>
Mol; died of [[typhoid]] on 17 January 1838.<ref name="BerkelHelden1999"/>


==Works==
==Works==
Moll developed the electromagnet of [[William Sturgeon]], publishing with priority over [[Joseph Henry]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Maury Klein|title=The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=w0o5Ld53wAEC&pg=PT72|date=1 September 2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-59691-834-4|page=72}}</ref>
Moll developed the electromagnet of [[William Sturgeon]], publishing with priority over [[Joseph Henry]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Maury Klein|title=The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0o5Ld53wAEC&pg=PT72|date=1 September 2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-59691-834-4|page=72}}</ref>


==Notes==
==Notes==
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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moll, Gerard}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moll, Gerard}}
[[Category:1785 births]]
[[Category:1785 births]]

Revision as of 00:17, 16 July 2016

Gerrit Moll (left) shakes hands with John Dalton

Gerard Moll, called Gerrit Moll (1785–1838) was a Dutch scientist and mathematician. A polymath in his interests, he published in four languages.[1]

Life

From a family background in Amsterdam of commerce, Moll was drawn towards science.[2] His teacher at the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam was Jean Henri van Swinden. He took up astronomy with Jan Frederik Keijser in 1801.[3] In 1809 he was awarded a Candidaat degree by Leiden University;[4][5] and in 1810 he went to Paris, where he studied under Delambre.[4][6] Moll is noted for his later animus against "Napoleonic science", the tradition of the revolutionary period in France.[7]

In 1812 Moll was appointed director at Utrecht Observatory, a position he then held for 26 years; and in 1815 professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Utrecht, receiving an honorary Ph.D. (under Johannes Theodorus Rossijn).[4][5] He became member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands in 1815.[8]

During the "declinist" controversy in British science around 1830, Moll spoke in praise of the British tradition, against the trend of increasing professionalisation.[9] A friend of Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday, he wrote a pamphlet On The Alleged Decline of Science in England (1831), which Faraday edited, in reply to Charles Babbage's On The Alleged Decline of Science in England (1830).[10] In relation to claims that French scientists had tried to diminish the impact of Davy's work, Moll relayed unfounded allegations to Faraday.[11]

Mol; died of typhoid on 17 January 1838.[2]

Works

Moll developed the electromagnet of William Sturgeon, publishing with priority over Joseph Henry.[12]

Notes

  1. ^ Lewis Pyenson (1989). Empire of Reason: Exact Sciences in Indonesia, 1840-1940. BRILL. p. 21. ISBN 90-04-08984-5.
  2. ^ a b Klaas Van Berkel; Albert Van Helden; L. C. Palm (1999). The History of Science in the Netherlands: Survey, Themes and Reference. BRILL. p. 531. ISBN 90-04-10006-7.
  3. ^ Huibert J. Zuidervaart; Rob H. van Gent (2013). Between Rhetoric and Reality: Instrumental Practices at the Astronomical Observatory of the Amsterdam Society 'Felix Meritis', 1786-1889. Uitgeverij Verloren. p. 84. ISBN 978-90-8704-363-6.
  4. ^ a b c Pieter C. van der Kruit (18 November 2014). Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn: Born Investigator of the Heavens. Springer. p. 29. ISBN 978-3-319-10876-6.
  5. ^ a b "Moll, Gerard - Springer". The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers 2007. p. 794. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  6. ^ Huibert J. Zuidervaart; Rob H. van Gent (2013). Between Rhetoric and Reality: Instrumental Practices at the Astronomical Observatory of the Amsterdam Society 'Felix Meritis', 1786-1889. Uitgeverij Verloren. p. 150. ISBN 978-90-8704-363-6.
  7. ^ Robert Fox, Scientific Enterprise and the Patronage of Research in France 1800–70, Minerva Vol. 11, No. 4 (October 1973), pp. 442–473, p. 445 note 16. Published by: Springer. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41820168
  8. ^ "Gerard (Gerrit) Moll (1785 - 1838)". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  9. ^ Richard Yeo (18 September 2003). Defining Science: William Whewell, Natural Knowledge and Public Debate in Early Victorian Britain. Cambridge University Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-521-54116-9.
  10. ^ Joseph Agassi, An Unpublished Paper of the Young Faraday, Isis Vol. 52, No. 1 (Mar., 1961) , pp. 87-90, at p. 87. Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/228343
  11. ^ David Knight; David M. Knight (1975). Sources for the History of Science, 1660-1914. CUP Archive. p. 85. GGKEY:07DR2AJ2N9B.
  12. ^ Maury Klein (1 September 2010). The Power Makers: Steam, Electricity, and the Men Who Invented Modern America. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-59691-834-4.
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