GERSTNER, Franz Josef Ritter von

He was the son of a leather straps manufacturer and he attended Jesuits gymnasium in Chomutov. From 1772 to 1777 he studied medicine, mathematics and astronomy at the University of Prague under Joseph →Stepling, Jan Tesánek and Vydra. Since 1779 he worked as a land surveyor in the Court committee for elimination of compulsory labour (Robot-Abolitions-Hofkommission) and in 1781 began to study medicine and astronomy at the University of Vienna. Since he worked at the Vienna observatory he was more devoted to the study of astronomy. In 1784 he took the Senior Assistant position at the Prague Observatory. In this position he would publish works that attracted experts’ attention from all over Europe. In them he paid attention to the calculations, which were different and more accurate from the data on the geographical location of European cities, and they also presented the new method for determining the geographic length according to the observation of a solar eclipse. Nevertheless, he adopted a post of a senior engineer in the property tax committee. After the death of Professor Jan Tesánek in 1788 he started to work as a professor of higher mathematics at the University of Prague. From then on he was primarily focused on pedagogical work and reforms of higher education. In 1795 he became a member of the Vienna government commission (Studienhofkommission), which tried to improve higher technical education in the Austrian empire, along the lines of the Paris École Polytechnique. Since the main Vienna educationalists did not support his ideas, the Czech States took the initiative and founded the Polytechnic Institute in Prague in November 1806. As co-founder G. became professor of mechanics and hydraulics and was director of the Institute for a quarter of a century. As early as 1804 the University appointed him director of mathematical and physical studies. His lectures on the mechanics were published in 1831/34 as a Handbook of mechanics (Handbuch der Mechanik) which appeared in three volumes. His early work focused on applied mechanics (1789), the effect of friction on efficiency of machinery (1790) and on the theory of hydropower (1795). In addition, he also wrote about current practical technical problems. When he was in 1807 asked for views on the planned Moldovan-Danube canal, he rejected the idea and suggested the construction of a horse-drawn railway between České Budějovice and Linz. This railway was in 1825 built by his son Franz Anton →G. In 1811 he became director of water works for the Czech Republic, he was responsible for building and monitoring of bridges. In 1821, suffering from tuberculosis, he renounced many functions: in 1822 he resigned the chair of higher mathematics at the University; in 1828 the post of Director for water works and in1831 the chair of mechanics at the Polytechnic Institute. In 1832 he retired and died in July of that year.