The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-09-14
SCIENCE
StruUe Family Has Contrib
uted Four Generations of
Famous Astronomers to
Science.
BY DAVID DIETZ-

TOUR generations of famous as
L tronomers have been the con-
tribution of the Strive family to
the world of science.
One war brought the first as
tropomer of the line to Russia and
a second war has brought the
youngest Of the line to America. 1t
was my good fortune to meet him
at the sessions Of the American AS
Economical Society at Ottawa, Cam
ada.
DR.. Otto Strive is a tall. youth
ful-looking man who speaks English
with slight accent.
His great grandfather, the first
/ of the astronomical line. was Will
helm Strive, one of the great names
/ in modern astronomy. Wilhelm,
along with HerscheI and Bessel, laid
the foundations of modern astron-
only.
From Dr.. Strive, I learned the
story of the part war played in
the life of his great-grandfather
and in his own life.
MY great-grandfather was born
/ in the province of Holstein, then
Danish territory" ne said. During
| the napoleonic wars he was ar
rested by a detachment of French
soldiers who we're making recruits
forcibiy for the French army. He
was taken to Hamburg and locked
up in a house on the Elba river
But he jumped out Of Second-
story window and swan to a boat.
/ The boat was bound for Russia"
THE rest of the story Of Wilhelm
a Strive is known to every stu
dent of astronomy. His work at
tracted the attention of the car
and he was commissioned to build
the famous Russian observatory at
Pulkowa.
This observatory, at the time Of
it's completion, had the finest equip
ment of any in the world.
Wilhelm served as the first direc-
tor of the observatory. He was sue
ceeded as director by his son, Otto
| Strive.
Two of Ottos sons became as
tronomers. Herman served first at
PulkoWa and then went to the Uni
verSity of Berlin Ludwig became
professor of astronomy at the Uni
versity of Kharkov in southern
Russia
Each Of the brothers had a son
who entered astronomy. Hermans
son, DR.. George Strive, is now pro-
fessor of astronomy at the Univer-
sity of Berlin. Ludwigs son is the
DR.. Otto Strive now in America.
1t was the World war which
brought DR.. Otto Strive from Rus
Sia to America.
During the war. he served in the
Russian army During the revolu"
ton, he served first in General
Denekin's army, later in General
Wrangeps army. When the Reds
defeated Wrangel, he fled to Con-
stantinople.
While at Constantinople, he re-
ceived an invitation from Professor
Frost, director of the Yerkes obsera-
tory, to come to America and re-
sumo his astronomical work.
CTUDENTS of heredity and en-
y vironment should find the
Strive family worth studying.
No doubt, the heredity enthusiasts
will claim that here is an excellent
example of the Importance of
heredity.
On the other hand, in all proba-
bility, the environment enthusiasts
will claim a victory for their side.
They will claim that it was the
environment of the great Pulkowa
observatory, rather than heredity,
which was responsible for the line
of astronomers.
The average citizen will be willing
to grant part of the credit to each,
assuming that it was an inherited
aptitude plus growing up in an as
Economical atmosphere that inclined
the successive generations of the
Strive family to the study of the
Strive family to the study of the
stars.
DR.. Otto Strive has been working
on two Of the mos interesting prob
lens in modern astronomy.
One is that of the possibility Of
SPACE containing faint thin clouds
of gases in addition to the stars.
The other is the problem of the
pressure in stars. According to mod
ern theory, each star is a great
bubble of gas Gravity tends to
hold it together while internal pres
sure tends to blow it to pieces.
The star continues in existence
because there is an equilibrium or
balance between the two