Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni

Werner_Kolhörster

Werner Heinrich Gustav Kolhörster (28 December 1887 – 5 August 1946) was a German physicist and a pioneer of research into cosmic rays.
Kolhörster was born in Schwiebus (Świebodzin), Brandenburg Province of Prussia. While attending the University of Halle, he studied physics under Friedrich Ernst Dorn.Repeating the cosmic ray experiments of Victor Hess, in 1913-14 Kolhörster ascended by balloon to an altitude of 9 km, where he confirmed Hess' result that the ionization rate from cosmic rays was greater at that altitude than at sea level. This was evidence that the source for these ionizing rays came from above the Earth's atmosphere.Kolhörster continued his physics studies at the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt in Berlin, beginning in 1914. During World War I he made measurements of atmospheric electricity in Turkey. Following the war he became a teacher. He joined the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt in 1922.In 1928–29, Walter Bothe and Kolhörster used the Geiger-Muller detector to demonstrate that cosmic rays were actually charged particles. The ability of these particles to penetrate the Earth's atmosphere meant that they must be highly energetic.In 1930, Kolhörster started the first institute for the study of cosmic rays in Potsdam, with financial assistance from the Prussian Academy of Sciences. He became director of the Institut für Hohenstrahlungsforschung in Berlin-Dahlem in 1935, where he was appointed an ordinary professor.Kolhörster was killed in a car crash in Munich. The crater Kolhörster on the Moon is named in his memory.

Albert_Anker

Albrecht Samuel Anker (1 April 1831 – 16 July 1910) was a Swiss painter and illustrator who has been called the "national painter" of Switzerland because of his enduringly popular depictions of 19th-century Swiss social life.

Friedrich_Christian_Laukhard

Friedrich Christian Laukhard (7 June 1757 – 28 April 1822) was a German novelist, philosopher, historian and theologian.
From 1783 to 1794 he volunteered in the Prussian army as a musketeer. During the War of the first coalition his regiment (v. Thadden) campaigned in Valmy.
Laukhard's military diary is of great interest for historical research on the Prussian army and the French revolutionary wars.
Due to his licentious and extrovert lifestyle, "Magister Laukhard" soon became a notorious figure.

Gustav_Nachtigal

Gustav Nachtigal (German: [ˈɡʊstaf ˈnaxtɪɡal]; born 23 February 1834 – 20 April 1885) was a German military surgeon and explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His mission as commissioner resulted in Togoland and Kamerun becoming the first colonies of a German colonial empire. The Gustav-Nachtigal-Medal, awarded by the Berlin Geographical Society, is named after him.