Foerster, Wilhelm Julius

German astronomer Wilhelm Foerster was an outstanding figure in Prussia and the Kaiserreich (German Empire), active in many areas of astronomy, geophysics, and metrology (science of measurement). He was the director of the Royal Observatory in Berlin for 39 years and a professor at the University of Berlin. Foerster’s importance lay not so much in any first-rate scientific achievements; rather, his merits lay more in organizational areas. He initiated and supported several research programs that were carried out at the Observatory. In addition, Foerster held public positions in metrology, helped to found several research institutions, and was engaged in the popularization of science. Foerster was a humanist (Bauschinger, Astron Nachr 212:489–494, 1921; Guthnick, Vierteljahresschrift der Astronomischen Gesellschaft 59:5–13, 1924) (Fig. 1).