Adolph Friedrich Lindemann
Encyclopedia
Adolph Friedrich Lindemann (13 May 1846 - 25 August 1931) was a German
-born, British
engineer, businessman, and amateur astronomer.
under the Comte de Lindemann, who had married into the Cyprien-Fabre shipping
family. Lindemann married Olga Noble (1851-c.1927), herself heiress to a wealthy New London, Connecticut
engineering family of British origin, and the widow of a banker named Davidson with whom she had parented three children. Olga was reputedly "vivacious and beautiful".
Lindemann had raised capital in the City of London
and constructed waterworks in Speyer
and Pirmasens
. Lindemann was also involved in the Transatlantic telegraph cable
project. He moved to England in the 1860s and became naturalised.
The couple were wealthy, having an annual income of around £20,000 by 1914 (£1.5 million at 2003 prices). Olga had inherited a mansion near Sidmouth
, Devon
and Lindemann took the opportunity to establish a laboratory
and astronomical observatory
there. On Olga's death, Lindemann donated the observatory to the University of Exeter
.
was to become a physicist
, World War II
adviser to Sir Winston Churchill
and who was ultimately to be created Viscount Cherwell. The youngest brother, Septimus, became something of a playboy on the French Riviera
but became a notable agent for the intelligence services in World War II. Adolph's only daughter (he had two stepdaughters by his wife's previous marriage) daughter, Linda, became a short story writer and playwright, writing under a pseudonym to avoid family disapproval. One of her plays, 'The Man in the Case' was censored. Her granddaughter is Salley Vickers
the novelist and her great grandson Rupert Kingfisher, the children's writer of Madame Pamplemousse.
Olga was a Protestant and insisted on the children being raised in the Anglican Church.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born, British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
engineer, businessman, and amateur astronomer.
Life
Lindemann was born in the Palatinate to a Roman Catholic family established in Alsace-LorraineAlsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
under the Comte de Lindemann, who had married into the Cyprien-Fabre shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
family. Lindemann married Olga Noble (1851-c.1927), herself heiress to a wealthy New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
engineering family of British origin, and the widow of a banker named Davidson with whom she had parented three children. Olga was reputedly "vivacious and beautiful".
Lindemann had raised capital in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
and constructed waterworks in Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
and Pirmasens
Pirmasens
Pirmasens is a district-free city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It is famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called Pirmasens from 1818 until 1997, when it was renamed Südwestpfalz....
. Lindemann was also involved in the Transatlantic telegraph cable
Transatlantic telegraph cable
The transatlantic telegraph cable was the first cable used for telegraph communications laid across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. It crossed from , Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island, in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. The transatlantic cable connected North America...
project. He moved to England in the 1860s and became naturalised.
The couple were wealthy, having an annual income of around £20,000 by 1914 (£1.5 million at 2003 prices). Olga had inherited a mansion near Sidmouth
Sidmouth
Sidmouth is a small town on the English Channel coast in Devon, South West England. The town lies at the mouth of the River Sid in the East Devon district, south east of Exeter. It has a population of about 15,000, of whom 40% are over 65....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Lindemann took the opportunity to establish a laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
and astronomical observatory
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
there. On Olga's death, Lindemann donated the observatory to the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
.
Family
The couple had a daughter and three sons, the second of whom, FrederickFrederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell
Frederick Alexander Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell FRS PC CH was an English physicist who was an influential scientific adviser to the British government, particularly Winston Churchill...
was to become a physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
adviser to Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and who was ultimately to be created Viscount Cherwell. The youngest brother, Septimus, became something of a playboy on the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
but became a notable agent for the intelligence services in World War II. Adolph's only daughter (he had two stepdaughters by his wife's previous marriage) daughter, Linda, became a short story writer and playwright, writing under a pseudonym to avoid family disapproval. One of her plays, 'The Man in the Case' was censored. Her granddaughter is Salley Vickers
Salley Vickers
Salley Vickers is an English novelist whose works include the word-of-mouth bestseller Miss Garnet's Angel, Mr. Golightly's Holiday, The Other Side of You and Where Three Roads Meet, a retelling of the Oedipus myth to Sigmund Freud in the last months of his life...
the novelist and her great grandson Rupert Kingfisher, the children's writer of Madame Pamplemousse.
Olga was a Protestant and insisted on the children being raised in the Anglican Church.
Further reading
- Blake, R. (2004) "Lindemann, Frederick Alexander, Viscount Cherwell (1886–1957)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn, May 2006, accessed 18 August 2007