Koenigsberger's Life of Hermann Von Helmholtz

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821-94) had a huge influence on German science during the mid-19th century, bringing it to the forefront of world attention.

He was a physicist and psychologist who made seminal contributions in both fields.

His "Treatise on Physiological Optics" transformed the study of vision by integrating its physical and psychological dimensions.

Helmholtz expalined the mechanism of "accommodation", invented the ophtalmoscope, and revived the three-colour theory of vision first proposed in 1801 by Thomas Young.

He also invented the telestereoscope, produced some novel visual illusions, and argued for the involvement of knowledge in perception.

Helmholtz was an inspiration to many other - notably his student Heinrich Hertz, the discover of radio waves.

Leo Koenigsberger's three-volume "Hermann von Helmholtz" (1902-1903) is one of the great scientifc biographies of the early 20th century.

Exhaustive and scholarly, it contains a wealth of detail about Helmholtz's personal and professional life.

The books are illustrated with portraits, and a facsimile of a handwritten letter from Helmholtz to his father is included in an appendix. Koenigsberger's work remains the standard life of Helmholtz to this day.

It has never been fully translated into English, and even in the original German it is scarce.