Some notes on Leaves of Memory, the autobiography of Hermann Kobold

Reinhart Vollmer, Hildegard Vollmer and Hilmar W. Duerbeck

We briefly describe the life of the astronomer Hermann Kobold, who lived from 1858 to 1942. He worked at the observatories of O'Gyalla, Strasbourg and Kiel, and was also involved in the observations and reductions of the German Venus transit project, 1874/82. His autobiography spans the time between his youth and his leave from Strasbourg in 1902. The subsequent time as observer and professor in Kiel and long-time editor of the Astronomische Nachrichten is not covered. The autobiography Blätter der Erinnerung (Leaves of Memory), presented in the subsequent article, was written in his late age when he was already blind, using a special device. We also present some photographs of Kobold and his contemporaries, taken in Göttingen, O'Gyalla, Aiken (South Carolina), and Strasbourg.