Dan Barfod la Cour (1876–1942) was a distinguished
scientist, instrument constructor, and international coordinator in
geomagnetism and meteorology. He was the son of Poul la Cour, a Danish
physicist who served as deputy director of the Danish Meteorological Institute
(MI, now DMI) and later as professor at Askov Folk University. Dan la Cour
matriculated from Lyceum in 1895, completed his military service in 1896–97,
and worked as a science assistant at the University of Copenhagen from 1897–99.
He obtained his M.Sc. degree from Copenhagen University in 1902 and became
assistant professor at the Technical University in 1908. Dan la Cour
participated in DMI aurora expeditions to Iceland and Finland during 1899–1901
and was employed at DMI in 1900. He became head of the DMI weather department
in 1903, head of the department of geomagnetism in 1920, and served as director
of DMI from 1923 until his death in 1942.
Dan la Cour was a brilliant instrument builder who
constructed precision instruments for geomagnetic measurements, including the
Copenhagen Variometer, the Godhavn Balance and BMZ vertical intensity
variometers, and the QHM quartz horizontal magnetometer. These instruments were
manufactured in Copenhagen and supplied to magnetic observatories worldwide
during 1930–50. In 1925, he established a magnetic observatory in Godhavn, the
first in Greenland, and initiated magnetic observations from Thule and
Julianehaab, Greenland, during the Polar Year 1932–33.
Dan la Cour served the international scientific community as
President of the Polar Year Commission from 1929, as Secretary of the
International Association of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity from 1933
to1936, and as President of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
from 1936 to 1942.
Author(s) Details
Peter Stauning
Danish Meteorological Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/mono/978-93-88417-19-8
No comments:
Post a Comment