Rudolf Wolf

2026-01-21 09:31:18

Rudolf Wolf (Fellanden, Switzerland, July 7, 1816 – December 6, 1893, Zurich, Switzerland) was a Swiss astronomer and historian of astronomy, discovered the 11-year cycle of the appearance of sunspots, was the first to discover its connection with geomagnetic activity on Earth. Developed the system now known as Wolff's sunspot number (1849). This system is still used to study solar activity by counting sunspots and their groups. In the field of mathematics, Wolff wrote about the theory of prime numbers and geometry, then about probability and statistics - Buffon's experiment with a needle was discussed in a large article. Calculated the number π using Monte Carlo methods. Honorary Doctor of the University of Bern.