Guide to the Ernst Zinner Manuscript Collection

2010-07-15

5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050

San Diego, CA, 92182-8050

URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua

Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu

Phone: 619-594-6791

Guide to the Ernst Zinner Manuscript Collection 1818/1981

Special Collections & University Archives

Overview of the Collection

Collection Title: Ernst Zinner Manuscript Collection

Dates: 1818-1981

Bulk Dates: 1880-1920

Identification: MS-0279

Creator: Zinner, Ernst, 1886-1970

Physical Description: 10.59 linear ft

Language of Materials: English French German

Repository: Special Collections & University Archives

5500 Campanile Dr. MC 8050

San Diego, CA, 92182-8050

URL: http://library.sdsu.edu/scua

Email: scref@rohan.sdsu.edu

Phone: 619-594-6791

Biographical Information:

Ernst Zinner was born in1886 in Goldberg, Silesia, a region of Central Europe primarily located in modern-day Poland, but which also overlaps current borders of the Czech Republic and Germany. He completed his PhD in 1907 at the University of Jena, also studying at the University of Lund, the University of Paris, and the Königstuhl Observatory in Heidelberg. In 1910, Zinner became Assistant to Ernst Hartwig, then director of the Remeis Astronomical Observatory at Bamberg, Germany.

In 1913 Zinner rediscovered the Comet Giacobini-Zinner, which had been previously discoverd by Michel Giacobini in 1900. During the First World War, Zinner worked in the weather service. He returned to the field of astronomy at the end of the war, becoming a lecturer in 1919, and professor of astronomy at the University of Munich in 1924.

In 1926, Zinner succeeded Hartwig and became director of the Remeis Astronomical Observatory at Bamberg. He held the office until his retirement in 1953. Over his career, Zinner distinguished himself as an historian of Renaissance astronomy, and authored several books on the subject. The best known of these is Geschichte und Bibliographie der Astronomischen Literatur in Deutschland zur Zeit der Renaissance, a standard reference work still cited as the authority in the field. Among many honors bestowed upon him during his life, the Zinner crater on the Moon is named after him.

Zinner was a frequent traveler, and had a great personal interest in scientific instruments and sundials. Traveling throughout Europe both before and after World War II, he visited numerous instrument collections, taking painstaking notes, even on public sundials, thereby accumulating an enormous reference collection on scientific instruments specifically, and astronomy and physics more generally.

Fearing the Soviet Union would buy or conceal his personal collection of books and manuscripts, upon his retirement, he sold it to the newly formed Friends of the Malcolm A. Love Library at San Diego State College in 1967. He willed his personal papers to Frankfurt University, from which he had received an honorary doctorate in 1961 in acknowledgement of his great merits to the history of astronomy. Zinner died in 1970.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Genre/Form of Material:

Personal Papers

Photographs

Publications

Topical Term:

Astronomy -- History -- Sources

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Use:

The copyright interests in some of these materials have been transferred to or belong to San Diego State University. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections means that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. Permissions is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.

Conditions Governing Access:

This collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation:

Identification of item, folder title, box number, Ernst Zinner Manuscript Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University.

Related Materials:

Zinner Collection

Information about related materials is available at http://libpac.sdsu.edu/search~S0?/tZinner+Collection/tzinner+collection/-3,-1,0,B/exact&FF=tzinner+collection&1,1602,

Arrangement of Materials:

I. Vertical Files, 1823-1981

II. Remeis Astronomical Observatory Files, 1818-1973

1.) Correspondence & Notes, 1818-1973

a.) Ernst Hartwig Correspondence, 1818-1927

b.) Ernst Zinner Correspondence & Notes, 1870-1973

2.) Venus Eclipse Expedition Files, 1882-1883

III. Portraits & Images

Scope and Contents

The Ernst Zinner Manuscript Collection documents Zinner's work as an astronomer and scientist at the Remeis Astronomical Observatory in Bamberg, Germany. The collection dates from 1818-1981, with the bulk of documents created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and consists of almanacs, articles, clippings, correspondence, photographs and other materials. The collection has three major series: Vertical Files, Remeis Astronomical Observatory Files, and Portraits. The Remeis Astronomical Observatory Files include two sub-series: Correspondence and Notes, further divided into two groups – Ernst Hartwig's correspondence and Ernst Zinner's correspondence, and Venus Eclipse Expedition Files.

The Vertical Files (1823-1981) consist of material Zinner collected throughout his career, covering a wide variety of astronomical and scientific topics, including notable astronomers, NASA's Apollo missions, the moon, star charts, and almanacs. This most extensive series in the collection is arranged alphabetically and includes monographs, pamphlets, booklets, magazine articles, photographs, newspaper clippings, book excerpts, biographical information, and catalogs.

The Remeis Astronomical Observatory Files consist of two subseries: Correspondence and Notes (1818-1973), and Venus Eclipse Expedition Files (1882-1973). The Correspondence and Notes is further sub-divided into two groups: Ernst Hartwig Correspondence (1818-1927), and Ernst Zinner Correspondence and Notes (1870-1973). The Hartwig and Zinner correspondence documents each man's work at the Remeis Astronomical Observatory, as well as their interactions with other astronomers and scientists. The Zinner correspondence further documents Zinner's work with publications issued by Der Naturforschende Verein, later known as the Remers Sternwante, Bamberg. Correspondence in both groups is primarily in German, with a few letters in English and French. Hartwig's correspondence is filed chronologically, while Zinner's is filed alphabetically by topic. The Venus Eclipse Expedition Files (1882-1915) primarily consists of correspondence between Arthur Von Auwers and Ernst Hartwig regarding Von Auwers trip to Argentina to view the transit of Venus as it passed between the erath and the sun, or the Venus eclipse, on December 6, 1882. Some publications on the journey are also included.

The Portrait series includes photographs, drawings, lithographs, and other images of astronomers, mathematicians, physicists, and other scientists from many different eras, including John Audubon, Aristotle, Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, Galileo, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Johannes Schöner, John Tyndall, and many others. The series is arranged alphabetically by last name.

Vertical Files 1823-1921

Box 1, Folder 1

Alchemy

Box 1, Folder 2

Almanacs I

Box 1, Folder 3

Almanacs II

Box 1, Folder 4

Almanacs 1823, 1841, 1846, 1867, 1914, 1934, 1937

Box 1, Folder 5

Almanacs (Appenzeller Kalender) 1970, 1974-77, 1981

Box 1, Folder 6

Almanacs (Der Neue Amerikanische Landwirtschafts Calendar, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1851-1867)

Box 1, Folder 7

Almanacs (Der Neue Amerikanische Landwirtschafts Calendar, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1870-1886)

Box 2, Folder 1

Almanacs (Der Neue Amerikanische Landwirtschafts Calendar, Reading, Pennsylvania, 1887-1916

Box 2, Folder 2

Almanacs (Unidentified German American Almanacs, 1855-1883

Box 2, Folder 3

Almanacs (Neuer Gemeinnuziger Calendar, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1866-1911)

Box 2, Folder 4

Almanac - Astronomical

Box 2, Folder 5

Anich, Peter (1723-1766)

Box 2, Folder 6

Apianus, Peter (1501?-1552)

Box 2, Folder 7

Archenold, Friedrich Simon (1861-1939)

Box 2, Folder 8

Architects, German

Box 2, Folder 9

Argelander, Friedrich Wilhelm August (1799-1875)

Box 2, Folder 10

Astrolabe

Box 2, Folder 11

Astrologus

Box 2, Folder 12

Astrology

Box 2, Folder 13

Astrology

Box 3, Folder 1

"Astronomical Announcement" (Celestial Happenings)

Box 3, Folder 2

Astronomical Clocks

Box 3, Folder 3

Astronomical Instruments

Box 3, Folder 4

Astronomical Instruments

Box 3, Folder 5

Astronomical Instruments

Box 3, Folder 6

Astronomical Observatories

Box 3, Folder 7

Astronomical Observatories

Box 3, Folder 8

Astronomical Observatories

Box 3, Folder 9

Astronomy, Ancient

Box 3, Folder 10

Astronomy, Arabic

Box 4, Folder 1

Astronomy, Armenian

Box 4, Folder 2

Astronomy, Assyro-Babylonian

Box 4, Folder 3

Astronomy, Byzantine

Box 4, Folder 4

Astronomy, Charts, Diagrams

Box 4, Folder 5

Astronomy, Curiosa and Miscellanious

Box 4, Folder 6

Astronomy, Checkoslavakian

Box 4, Folder 7

Astronomy, Chinese

Box 4, Folder 8

Astronomy, Egyptian

Box 4, Folder 9

Astronomy, French

Box 4, Folder 10

Astronomy, Germany

Box 4, Folder 11

Astronomy, Greek (Modern)

Box 4, Folder 12

Astronomy, Hindu

Box 4, Folder 13

Astronomy, History

Box 4, Folder 14

Astronomy, Indonesian

Box 4, Folder 15

Astronomy, Japanese

Box 4, Folder 16

Astronomy, Jewish

Box 4, Folder 17

Astronomy, Mayan

Box 4, Folder 18

Astronomy, Russian

Box 4, Folder 19

Astronomy, Swedish

Box 4, Folder 20

Astronomy, tables

Box 4, Folder 21

Astronomy, Terminology

Box 4, Folder 22

Astronomy, Tibetan

Box 4, Folder 23

Automata

Box 5, Folder 1

Baer, Karl Ernst von

Box 5, Folder 2

Bamberg, Carl (1847-1892)

Box 5, Folder 3

Berp De Valencia, Bartholomaeus

Box 5, Folder 4

Bauschlinger, Julius (1860-1934)

Box 5, Folder 5

Beer, Arthur, Ernst Zinner, "Some Reflections on Research in the History of Astronomy"

Box 5, Folder 6

Bessel, Friedrich Wilhelm (1784-1846)

Box 5, Folder 7

Biermann, Ludwig

Box 5, Folder 8

Bode, Johann Elert (1747-1826)

Box 5, Folder 9

Book Reviews

Box 5, Folder 10

Boscovich, Ruggiero Giuseppe (1711-1787)

Box 5, Folder 11

Bradley, James (1693-1762)

Box 5, Folder 12

Brahe, Tycho (1546-1601)

Box 5, Folder 13

Brahe, Tycho (1546-1601)

Box 5, Folder 14

Bramer, Benjamin

Box 5, Folder 15

Brauns, Fred

Box 5, Folder 16

Breasted, James Henry (1865-1935)

Box 5, Folder 17

Bruns, Heinrich (1848-1919)

Box 5, Folder 18

Calenders

Box 5, Folder 19

Calenders

Box 6, Folder 1

Calender Fragments from early imprints

Box 6, Folder 2

Calenders, Germanic

Box 6, Folder 3

Calenders (Months' occupations)

Box 6, Folder 4

Calenders, Greek

Box 6, Folder 5

Calenders, Mayan

Box 6, Folder 6

Calenders, Mexican

Box 6, Folder 7

Cartographers

Box 6, Folder 8

Cartography

Box 6, Folder 9

Catalogs, Booksellers

Box 6, Folder 10

Catalogs (Optical, Astronomical and others)

Box 6, Folder 11

Chappe d'Auteroche, Jean Baptiste (1728-1769)

Box 6, Folder 12

Chemistry, History

Box 6, Folder 13

Chemistry, History

Box 6, Folder 14

Chlandi, Ernst-Florens Friedrich

Box 6, Folder 15

Chronology

Box 6, Folder 16

Civilization, Assyro, Babylonian

Box 6, Folder 17

Clavius, Christoph (Bambergensis) (1538-1612)

Box 6, Folder 18

Clocks-reprints

Box 6, Folder 19

Clocks and Watches

Box 7, Folder 1

Clocks and Watches

Box 7, Folder 2

Clocks and Watches

Box 7, Folder 3

Clocks and Watches

Box 7, Folder 4

Clocks and Watches

Box 7, Folder 5

Clocks and Watches

Box 7, Folder 6

Clocks and Watches

Box 7, Folder 7

Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506)

Box 7, Folder 8

Comet Hyakutake

Box 7, Folder 9

Comets

Box 7, Folder 10

Congresses and Conventions

Box 8, Folder 1

Constellations

Box 8, Folder 2

Copernicus, Nicolaus 1473-1543

Box 8, Folder 3

Copernicus, Nicolaus

Box 8, Folder 4

Copernicus, Nicolaus

Box 8, Folder 5

Copernicus, Nicolaus

Box 8, Folder 6

Copernicus's 500th Anniversary 1973, Papers on

Box 8, Folder 7

Cruls, Louis (1848-1908)

Box 8, Folder 8

Deichmuller, Fredrich (1855-1903)

Box 8, Folder 9

De L'obel, Mathias (1538-1616)

Box 8, Folder 10

Descartes, Rene (1596-1650)

Box 8, Folder 11

Drinking Water

Box 9, Folder 1

Duever, Albrecht (1471-1528)

Box 9, Folder 2

Eclipses

Box 9, Folder 3

Ebert, Von Wilhelm

Box 9, Folder 4

Egyptology

Box 9, Folder 5

Einstein, Albert

Box 9, Folder 6

Engelmann, Friedrich Wilhelm Rudolf (1841-1888)

Box 9, Folder 7

Erasmus (1466-1536)

Box 9, Folder 8

Ethics and Morals in Natural Sciences

Box 9, Folder 9

Euler, Leonhard (1707-1783)

Box 9, Folder 10

Exhibitions

Box 9, Folder 11

Fabricius, David (1564-1617) and Johannes (1587-1615) (son of David)

Box 9, Folder 12

Foerster, Wilhelm (1832-1921)

Box 9, Folder 13

Folk Medicine

Box 9, Folder 14

Force and Energy

Box 9, Folder 15

Fractions

Box 9, Folder 16

Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642)

Box 9, Folder 17

Galle, Johann Gottfried (1812-1910)

Box 9, Folder 18

Geodesy

Box 9, Folder 19

Germanic Antiquities

Box 9, Folder 20

Gingerich, Owen

Box 9, Folder 21

Globes

Box 9, Folder 22

Globes, Celestial

Box 9, Folder 23

Goldstein, Eugen (1850-1930)

Box 9, Folder 24

Grahan, George (1673/4-1751) [Horologist and Astronomer]

Box 9, Folder 25

Grassmann, Hermann Gunther

Box 9, Folder 26

Gravity

Box 9, Folder 27

Gruithusen, Franz von Paula (1774-1852)

Box 9, Folder 28

Guericke, Otto von (1602-1686)

Box 9, Folder 29

Gylden, Yohann Agust Hugo

Box 9, Folder 30

Hahn, Otto (1879-1968)

Box 10, Folder 1

Halley, Edmund

Box 10, Folder 2

Harrison, John

Box 10, Folder 3

Harzer, Paul (1857-1932)

Box 10, Folder 4

Heis, Eduard (1806-1877)

Box 10, Folder 5

Heisenberg, Werner

Box 10, Folder 6

Hell, Maximilian (1720-1792)

Box 10, Folder 7

Hencke, Karl Ludwig (1793-1866)

Box 10, Folder 8

Henri Bate of Malines (1246-1310)

Box 10, Folder 9

Herschel, John

Box 10, Folder 10

Herschel, William (1738-1822)

Box 10, Folder 11

Hevelius, Johannes (1611-1687)

Box 10, Folder 12

Historians

Box 10, Folder 13

Hommel, Fritz (1854-1936)

Box 10, Folder 14

Ibn Al Shatir

Box 10, Folder 15

Jai Sing II (1686-1743)

Box 10, Folder 16

Yohannes Hispalensis (Yohn of Seville) (12th Century)

Box 10, Folder 17

Kepler Johann (1571-1630)

Box 10, Folder 18

Kirchhoff, Gustav Robert (1824-1887)

Box 10, Folder 19

Koestler, Arthur

Box 10, Folder 20

Lacaille, Nicolas Louis de (1713-1762)

Box 10, Folder 21

Lagrange, Yoseph Louis (1736-1813)

Box 10, Folder 22

La Place, Pierre Simon (1749-1827)

Box 10, Folder 23

Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm (1646-1716)

Box 10, Folder 24

Learned Institutions and Societies

Box 11, Folder 1

Leowitz, Cyprian von

Box 11, Folder 2

Libraries

Box 11, Folder 3

Loys de Cheseaux, Jean Philippe de (1718-1751)

Box 11, Folder 4

Lunar - Apollo 4

Box 11, Folder 5

Lunar - Apollo 8

Box 11, Folder 6

Lunar - Apollo 9

Box 11, Folder 7

Lunar - Apollo 11

Box 11, Folder 8

Lunar - Apollo 12

Box 11, Folder 9

Lunar - Apollo 13

Box 11, Folder 10

Lunar - Apollo 14

Box 11, Folder 11

Lunar - Apollo 15

Box 11, Folder 12

Lunar - Gemini IV, VII, VIII, IX - misc. photos

Box 11, Folder 13

Lunar - Maps

Box 11, Folder 14

Lunar - Mariner 6 and 7, Photos

Box 11, Folder 15

Lunar - Miscellaneous

Box 11, Folder 16

Lunar - Photos, miscellaneous

Box 11, Folder 17

Lunar - Photos - Moon's Surface

Box 11, Folder 18

Maedler, Yohann Heinrich von (1794-1874)

Box 11, Folder 19

Magnetism, Temestrial

Box 12, Folder 1

Manuscripts

Box 12, Folder 2

Marius (Mair), Simon (1570-1624)

Box 12, Folder 3

Mathematics

Box 12, Folder 4

Mathematics - Egyptian

Box 12, Folder 5

Mathematics - History

Box 12, Folder 6

Measuring - Instruments

Box 12, Folder 7

Medicine - History

Box 12, Folder 8

Medicine - History

Box 12, Folder 9

Medicine - History

Box 13, Folder 1

Medicine - History

Box 13, Folder 2

Megalithic Monuments

Box 13, Folder 3

Meister, Singer (Meistergesany?)

Box 13, Folder 4

Mercator, Gerard (1512-1594)

Box 13, Folder 5

Meteorites

Box 13, Folder 6

Meteorology

Box 13, Folder 7

Milankovitch, Milutin (1879-1958)

Box 13, Folder 8

Miller, Oskar von (1855-1934)

Box 13, Folder 9

Moon

Box 13, Folder 10

Mudge, Thomas C.

Box 13, Folder 11

Mueller, Gustav (1851-1925)

Box 13, Folder 12

Muller, Johannes, Regiomontanus (1436-1476)

Box 13, Folder 13

Museums

Box 13, Folder 14

Museums

Box 14, Folder 1

Mythology

Box 14, Folder 2

Nautical Astronomy

Box 14, Folder 3

Navigation

Box 14, Folder 4

Newton, Sir Issac (1642-1727)

Box 14, Folder 5

Numerals

Box 14, Folder 6

Olbers, Wilhelm (1758-1840)

Box 14, Folder 7

Oppenheimer, Franz (1864-1943)

Box 14, Folder 8

Oppolzer, Egon von (1869-1907) (son of Theodor)

Box 14, Folder 9

Oppolzer, Theodor von (1841-1886)

Box 14, Folder 10

Optics

Box 14, Folder 11

Oriani, Barnaba (1752-1832)

Box 14, Folder 12

Orrery

Box 14, Folder 13

Paraclesus

Box 14, Folder 14

Physicians

Box 14, Folder 15

Physicists

Box 14, Folder 16

Plank, Max

Box 14, Folder 17

Planetaria

Box 14, Folder 18

Planets

Box 14, Folder 19

Planets

Box 14, Folder 20

Ptolemaeus, Claudius

Box 14, Folder 21

Quetelet, Lambert Adolphe Jacques (1796-1874)

Box 15, Folder 1

Reproduced selections from Astonomical Works, 16th-17th century

Box 15, Folder 2

Reproduced selections from Astonomical Works, 16th-17th century

Box 15, Folder 3

Reusch, Paul

Box 15, Folder 4

Roemer, Ole (1644-1710)

Box 15, Folder 5

Roentgen, Wilhelm Conrad (1845-1923)

Box 15, Folder 6

Rohr, Moritz von

Box 15, Folder 7

Sallfelder

Box 15, Folder 8

Sarton, George (1884-1956)

Box 15, Folder 9

Schoner, Yohann

Box 15, Folder 10

Schickard, Wilhelm

Box 15, Folder 11

Schoch, Carl (1873-1929)

Box 15, Folder 12

Schroter, Yohann Hieronymus (1745-1816)

Box 15, Folder 13

Schumacher, Heinrich Christian (1780-1850)

Box 15, Folder 14

Schwarzschild, Karl (1873-1916)

Box 15, Folder 15

Science, Ancient

Box 15, Folder 16

Science, History

Box 16, Folder 1

Science, History

Box 16, Folder 2

Science, Medieval

Box 16, Folder 3

Science, Medical

Box 16, Folder 4

Science, Philosophy

Box 16, Folder 5