Karl Kreil was an Austrian meteorologist

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

 and astronomer

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, born in Ried

Ried im Innkreis

Ried im Innkreis is a town in the state of Upper Austria in Austria, approximately 70 km west of Linz and 60 km north of Salzburg...

.

Before university, he was educated at the Benedictine Kremsmünster Abbey

Kremsmünster Abbey

Kremsmünster Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Kremsmünster in Upper Austria.-History:The monastery was founded in 777 by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria...

, under the astronomer Boniface Schwarzenbrunner. He was educated at the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

, where he studied law before devoting himself to astronomy. In 1827 he became an assistant at the Vienna Observatory

Vienna Observatory

Universitäts-Sternwarte Wien is an astronomical observatory in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the University of Vienna. The first observatory was built in 1753–1754 on the roof of one of the university buildings....

, from which he went to Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 in 1831 and thence in 1838 to Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, where he was from 1845 to 1851 director of the observatory, then returned to Vienna to take charge of the Central Meteorological and Magnetic Bureau. He made particularly important studies of terrestrial magnetism, discovering (1841) that it is practically unaffected by the moon

Moon

The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...

and writing Anleitung zu den magnetischen Beobachtungen (second edition, 1858). Many automatically registering meteorological machines were devised by him. From 1849 until his death, he edited the Jahrbuch of the Central Bureau at Vienna. He wrote many works, including:

• Cenni storici e teoretici sulle comete (1832)
• Ueber die Natur une Bewegung der Kometen (1843)
• Klimatologie von Böhmen (1865)