BornGroden near Cuxhaven, (Niedersachsen, Germany), 22 July 1777

DiedLeipzig, (Germany), 17 May 1834

Heinrich Brandes was a pioneer in the study of meteors. He was a son of Albert Georg Brandes, a Protestant minister. Following grammar-school education, he studied science and mathematics at Göttingen with A. G. Kaestner and G. C. Lichtenberg. After 10 years of work as a dike official, Brandes was appointed in 1811 professor of mathematics at Breslau University. In 1826, he succeeded L. W. Gilbert in the chair of physics at Leipzig. Brandes was married, and his son, Carl Wilhelm Theodor, was a lecturer at Leipzig.

In 1798, Brandes and his fellow student  Johann Benzenbergperformed a series of observations to determine the altitude (and velocity) of meteors by triangulation. This work, locating these objects in the upper atmosphere rather than the troposphere, eventually led to the discovery of their interplanetary nature. Later, at Breslau, Brandes organized a regional network of...