Minor planet Minor planet An asteroid group or minor-planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid... s discovered: 4
158 Koronis 158 Koronis 158 Koronis is a main-belt, S-type asteroid.It was discovered by Viktor Knorre on January 4, 1876, from the Berlin observatory. It was the first of his four asteroid discoveries....	January 4, 1876
215 Oenone 215 Oenone 215 Oenone is a typical Main belt asteroid.It was discovered by Viktor Knorre on April 7, 1880 in Berlin. It was first of his four asteroid discoveries.It was named after Oenone, a nymph in Greek mythology.- References :...	April 7, 1880
238 Hypatia 238 Hypatia 238 Hypatia is a very large main-belt asteroid. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of primitive carbonaceous material. Like many asteroids of this type, its surface is very dark in colour....	July 1, 1884
271 Penthesilea 271 Penthesilea 271 Penthesilea is a large Main belt asteroid. It was named after Penthesilea, the mythical Greek queen of the Amazons.It was discovered by Viktor Knorre on October 13, 1887 in Berlin. It was his last asteroid discovery.-References:...	October 13, 1887

Viktor Knorre (October 4, 1840 – August 25, 1919) was a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...

 of German

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...

 ethnic origin.

Biography and family background

Viktor Knorre was born into a three-generation astronomer family. His grandfather, Ernst Friedrich Knorre
(1759–1810), had moved from Germany to Dorpat

Tartu

Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...

 (now Tartu, Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

) where he worked (1803–10) as Observator for the Dorpat observatory

Tartu Observatory

The Tartu Observatory is the largest astronomical observatory in Estonia. It is located on the Tõravere hill, about 20 km south-west of Tartu in Nõo Parish, Tartu County...

 (opened in 1802) and professor of Mathematics at the University of Dorpat.
Victor Knorre's father, Karl Friedrich Knorre (1801–1883), set up and was director of the Nikolayev Astronomical Observatory

Mykolayiv Astronomical Observatory

Mykolayiv Astronomical Observatory — astronomic observatory situated in Mykolaiv...

 starting in 1827.

Viktor was born—the fifth one of fifteen children—in Nikolayev

Mykolaiv

Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...

 (now Mykolayiv, Ukraine). He moved to Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 in 1862 to study astronomy with Wilhelm Julius Foerster

Wilhelm Julius Foerster

Wilhelm Julius Foerster was a German astronomer, father of the pacifist and ethicist Friedrich Wilhelm Foerster. His name can also be written Förster, but is usually written "Foerster" even in most German sources where 'ö' is otherwise used in the text.A native of Grünberg, Silesia, he worked as...

. He worked at Pulkovo Observatory

Pulkovo Observatory

The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory астрономи́ческая обсервато́рия Росси́йской акаде́мии нау́к), the principal astronomical observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, located 19 km south of Saint Petersburg on Pulkovo Heights...

 in 1867 as an astronomical calculator and then at Berlin Observatory

Berlin Observatory

The Berlin Observatory is a series of observatories and related organizations in and around the city of Berlin in Germany, starting from the 18th century...

, where his father moved circa 1871.

Astronomer

From 1873, he was observer at the Berlin Observatory. Knorre discovered four asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

s. He did not teach students at the University of Berlin

Humboldt University of Berlin

The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...

; instead he gave introductions into the use of the telescopes of the Observatory. In 1892 he was appointed Professor of Astronomy. Knorre took an interest in the improvement of astronomical equipment, and published papers on an improved equatorial telescope mount

Equatorial mount

An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that follows the rotation of the sky by having one rotational axis parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras...

, referred to as the "Knorre & Heele" mount.

Chess master

Knorre was also known as a strong chess player, playing among others against Adolf Anderssen

Adolf Anderssen

Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...

, Gustav Neumann

Gustav Neumann

Gustav Richard Ludwig Neumann was a German chess master.Neumann was born in Gleiwitz in the Prussian Province of Silesia. In matches he lost to Louis Paulsen at Leipzig 1864, and defeated Celso Golmayo Zúpide , and Simon Winawer at Paris 1867...

and Johannes Zukertort

Johannes Zukertort

Johannes Hermann Zukertort was a leading chess master of German-Polish-Jewish origin. He was one of the leading world players for most of the 1870s and 1880s, and lost to Wilhelm Steinitz in the World Chess Championship 1886, which is generally seen as the first World Chess Championship match, he...

. He took part in several chess tournaments during the 1860s.

In the Two Knights Defense

Two Knights Defense

The Two Knights Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves: in the late 16th century, this line of the Italian Game was extensively developed in the 19th century....

 the Knorre variation (ECO code C59) is named after him. It follows the main line of the Two Knights defense for the first ten moves, and is characterized by the moves 10. Ne5 Bd6 11. d4 Qc7 12. Bd2. The Knorre variation of the Open defense in the Ruy Lopez

Ruy Lopez

The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...

, characterized by the move 6. Nc3, is also named after Knorre.

External links

• M. Ebell: Obituary on Viktor Knorre, in: Astronomische Nachrichten
  Astronomische Nachrichten
  Astronomische Nachrichten , one of the first international journals in the field of astronomy, was founded in 1821 by the German astronomer Heinrich Christian Schumacher. It claims to be the oldest astronomical journal in the world that is still being published...
  
  , 1919, volume 209, p. 367 (in German)
• Biographical information on Viktor Knorre