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Carl Vilhelm Ludwig Charlier | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Professor Carl Charlier in 1923. | |
| Born | (1862-04-01)1 April 1862 |
| Died | 4 November 1934(1934-11-04) (aged 72) |
| Known for | Charlier polynomials Charlier universe Gram–Charlier A series Siriometer |
| Awards | Bruce Medal (1933) James Craig Watson Medal (1924) |
Carl Vilhelm Ludwig Charlier (1 April 1862 – 4 November 1934) was aSwedishastronomer. His parents were Emmerich Emanuel and Aurora Kristina (née Hollstein) Charlier.
Charlier was born inÖstersund. He received his Ph.D. fromUppsala University in 1887, later worked there and at theStockholm Observatory and was Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Observatory atLund University from 1897.
He made extensive statistical studies of the stars in our galaxy and their positions and motions, and tried to develop a model of the galaxy based on this. He proposed thesiriometer as a unit of stellar distance.
Charlier was also interested in pure statistics and played a role in the development of statistics in Swedish academia. Several of his pupils became statisticians, working at universities and in government and companies.[1]
Related to his work on galactic structure, he also developed a cosmological theory based on the work ofJohann Heinrich Lambert. In the resulting Lambert-Charlier Hierarchical Cosmology, increasingly large areas of space contain decreasing densities of matter, the principle being introduced to avoid the observational inconsistency that would otherwise emerge fromOlbers's paradox.
Late in his career, he translatedIsaac Newton'sPrincipia into Swedish. He died inLund, aged 72.
Named after him
