Gustav Kirchhoff

Gustav Kirchhoff
Born
Gustav Robert Kirchhoff

(1824-03-12)12 March 1824
Died17 October 1887(1887-10-17) (aged 63)
Resting placeAlter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof, Berlin
Alma materUniversity of Königsberg
Known for
Spouses
Clara Richelot
(m. 1857; died 1869)
    Luise Brömmel
    (m. 1872)
    Children5
    Awards
    Honors Pour le Mérite (1874)
    Scientific career
    Fields
    Institutions
    Academic advisors
    Doctoral students
    Other notable students

    Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (German: [ˈgʊstaːf ˈʁoːbɛʁt ˈkɪʁçhɔf]; 12 March 1824 – 17 October 1887) was a German chemist, mathematician, physicist, and spectroscopist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects. He also coined the term black body in 1860.

    Several different sets of concepts are named "Kirchhoff's laws" after him, which include Kirchhoff's circuit laws, Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation, and Kirchhoff's law of thermochemistry.

    The Bunsen–Kirchhoff Award for spectroscopy is named after Kirchhoff and his colleague, Robert Bunsen.