Heinrich Bruns was born on 4 September 1848 in Berlin. He was a mathematician and astronomer who contributed to the field of Geodesy, which involved trying to determine the theoretical shape of the Earth.
One of his more important works’ title could be literally translated as ‘The Shape of the Earth’. However, he wasn’t limited to Geodesy, as he studied potential theory and equilibrium shapes, which owe key breakthroughs to him, such as Bruns Formula. Find out more here.