Born Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 18 January 1785
Died Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 17 January 1838
Dutch astronomer Gerard Moll directed the Utrecht Observatory for 26 years. The son of Gerard, a wealthy Amsterdam merchant, and Anna (née Diersen) Moll, he became a junior clerk in an Amsterdam mercantile house around 1800. It was a job he undertook with reluctance but performed satisfactorily. His spare time was devoted to mathematical and scientific studies, including astronomy. After several years, Moll's father allowed him to undertake academic studies at the University of Amsterdam. Moll was awarded a Ph.D. in 1809, and afterwards studied at the University of Paris.
In 1812, Moll was appointed director of the Observatory at the University of Utrecht. Following that institution's reorganization in 1815, Moll was also appointed professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, a post which he held until his death. The university, however, failed to provide much in the way of support...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Selected References
Anon. (1838). “Professor Moll, of Utrecht.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 4: 110–111.
Dieke, Sally H. (1974). “Moll, Gerard.” In Dictionary of Scientific Biography, edited by Charles Coulston Gillispie. Vol. 9, pp. 459–460. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Frommert, H. (2007). Moll, Gerard. In: Hockey, T., et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_967
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_967
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-31022-0
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-30400-7
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics