Wolf, Johann Rudolf

Johann Rudolf Wolf (generally known as Rudolf) is best known for his observations of sunspots and, in particular, his development of a formula for describing the number of observed sunspots. Wolf was born to Johannes Wolf (1768–1827), the fourth generation of Evangelical pastors in his family, and to Regula Gossweiler (1780–1867), a daughter of a Protestant minister. Wolf claimed to owe his scientific career in large part to his older brother, Johannes, who first announced his intention to carry on the family’s religious tradition (Jaeggli 1968; Lutstorf 1993).