Johann von Lamont
German astronomer
Johann von Lamont (born Dec. 13, 1805, Braemar, Aberdeenshire, Scot.—died Aug. 6, 1879, Munich, Ger.) was a Scottish-born German astronomer noted for discovering that the magnetic field of the Earth fluctuates with a period somewhat in excess of 10 years. In 1827 Lamont began working at the Royal Observatory, Bogenhausen, near Munich. He adopted German nationality and worked at Bogenhausen for the rest of his life, as director of the observatory from 1835 and also...