Louis Agricola Bauer

Background

Louis Agricola Bauer was born on January 26, 1865, in Cincinnati, Ohio to German parents.

Education

Bauer first attended college at the University of Cincinnati and earned a degree in Civil Engineering in 1888. Between 1887 and 1892, while working with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as a computer, during this time he became interested in geomagnetism and left the USCGS for Berlin to study physics and geophysics under such revered scientists as Max Planck and Adolf Schmidt. From 1892 to 1895 he studied at the University of Berlin and earned the Ph.D. for a thesis on the secular variation of the earth’s magnetism.

Career

After studying at the University of Berlin, where Bauer earned his Ph.D. degree, on his return from Europe, Bauer taught at the University of Chicago (1895-1896) and the University of Cincinnati (1897-1899). While at the latter he also directed the magnetic work of the Maryland Geological Survey, and from 1899 to 1906 he supervised the expanded geomagnetic work of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. During this period he became convinced that determination of the physical nature of terrestrial magnetism and the explanation of its secular variation required a great increase in observational data.

When the Carnegie Institution of Washington was founded in 1902, Bauer proposed a worldwide program of research on the magnetic and electrical condition of the earth and its atmosphere and was appointed head of the new department in 1904. Bauer served as Director of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism from 1904 until 1930. He retained the title of Director until 1930, but did not act as such while his mental facilities were evaluated. Two years later, on April 12, 1932, Bauer committed suicide.

Achievements

• Bauer's chief achievement was in being the founder of the department of terrestrial magnetism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Undoubtedly the most heroic aspect of Bauer’s work at the Carnegie Institution was the extensive mapping of the earth’s magnetic field on a vast area of the seas. He also promoted the establishment of magnetic stations and was active in the mathematical analysis of observations and in the development of a mathematical theory. Also, Bauer was very active in various international geophysical organizations, such as the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics.
  
  In 1896 he founded the periodical Terrestrial Magnetism (later Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity), which he edited until 1927. Now known as the Journal of Geophysical Research, the periodical was influential, highly regarded, and played an important role in stimulating geophysical investigations at a time when interest in classical physics was being overshadowed by newer intellectual pursuits.
  
  In recognition to his remarkable input into the field of geophysics, Bauer received the Prix Charles Lagrange from the Académie royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in 1910. He was also elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1912.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Researches of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism: Land Magnetic Observations 1910
  • Land Magnetic Observations: Land Magnetic Observations 1912
  • Land Magnetic Observations 1905
  • Land Magnetic Observations 1910
  • Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity 1904
  • Results Of Magnetic Observations Made By The Coast And Geodetic Survey 1903
  • United States Magnetic Tables And Magnetic Charts 1905
  • Magnetic Dip And Intensity Observations 1903
  • The Earliest Isoclinics and Observations of Magnetic Force 1894
  • United States: Magnetic Declination Tables And Isogonic Charts For 1902, And Principal Facts Relating To The Earth's Magnetism 1912
  • Prince George's county 1911
  • The Earth's Magnestism 1913

• publication

  • Magnetic results of Halley's expedition, 1698-1700 1912

Views

Bauer paid considerable attention to instrumentation. Although much of his work was devoted to the main magnetic field, he was also interested in atmospheric electricity and extraterrestrial influences on the earth’s magnetism.

Membership

Bauer was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1912.

Personality

Bauer preferred that his first name be given the French pronunciation, and having been given no middle name, he jokingly chose for himself "Agricola," the Latin translation of his German last name meaning "farmer."

Physical Characteristics: In 1927 Bauer suffered a mental breakdown while in Europe, which affected his mental health and caused him a great deal of depression.

Connections

Louis Agricola Bauer married Adelia Frances Doolittle in 1891 and they had one child, Dorothea Louise.

Wife:

Adelia Frances Doolittle

Daughter:

Dorothea Louise

References

• Dictionary of Scientific Biography
  1970