Hausdorff’s Student Years and Short-lived Astronomical Career

During his senior year at the Nicolai Gymnasium, Felix Hausdorff probably had a difficult time deciding which course of study he should pursue at the university. His literary and linguistic talents were well nurtured, thanks to the school’s strong neohumanistic curriculum, but these fields were perhaps already eclipsed by his passionate interest in mathematics and the natural sciences, despite having had less exposure to these subjects during his school years. Alongside this broad spectrum of possibilities, however, stood another, namely the world of music. For Felix was a talented pianist and a fervent devotee of the operatic works of Richard Wagner, whose cult of worshipers celebrated his memory each year at festival performances in Bayreuth.