Beer, Wilhelm |
| BANKER, POLITICIAN, AMATEUR ASTRONOMER (PRUSSIA) |
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BORN 4 Feb 1797, Berlin - DIED 27 Mar 1850, Berlin BIRTH NAME Beer, Wilhelm Wolff GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Jüdischer Friedhof in Prenzlauer Berg, Schönhauser Allee 23-25 (Feld W1) |
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Wilhelm Beer was the son of Jakob Herz Beer and Amalie Beer. The composer Giacomo Meyerbeer was his brother. He was educated at the Joachimsthalschen Gymnasium Berlin. He joined the army as a volunteer in 1813 and he took part in the Liberation Wars. After the war he joined his father's bank and in 1818 he married Doris Schlesinger (1799-1859). They had three surviving children, Elisa, Georg and Julius. In 1824 he met the astronomer Johann Heinrich Mädler and he became a devoted amateur astronomer himself. Together they created a map of the moon, the Mappa Selenographica (1836). This earned them the Lalande Prize. They also published a map on the solar system in 1840. In 1841 he declined the offer to become a professional astronomer. He became the director of the Potsdam-Leipzig Railway Company and he supervised several other railway companies. In 1844 he started working as a journalist as well. He was knighted by the Dule of Tuscany in the same year. In 1849 he was elected into the First Chamber of the Prussian Parliament. He died the next year in Berlin. Family • Mother: Beer, Amalie • Brother: Meyerbeer, Giacomo Related persons • has a connection with Fraunhofer, Joseph von • is brother/sister of Meyerbeer, Giacomo |
| Images |
 The grave of Wilhelm Beer at the Jüdischer Friedhof in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin. Picture by Androom (11 Aug 2020) |
Sources • Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909 • Wilhelm Beer – Wikipedia |
