Gustav Robert Kirchhoff

Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824 - 1887) Photo: German Museum Munich

Kirchhoff was born in Koenigsberg, Prussia, the son of a member of the King's Council. In 1842, after completing his schooling, he started his university degree in Koenigsberg. He completed his Ph.D. in 1847 with a thesis based upon the determination of the dielectric constant. In 1846, he married Clara Richelot, becoming a professor in Breslau in 1850, during which time he met Bunsen. His wife passed away in 1869, leaving behind four children. He remarried in 1872 to Luise Broemmel. In 1875, he gained a full-time professorship for theoretical physics in Berlin. In 1886, he was forced to give up his position due to health reasons, passing away in 1887.

At the age of 21, Kirchhoff wrote his principles on the conduction of electrical current through any number of linear networks. In addition, he laid down a general concept of Ohm's laws. He showed that Ohm's definition of voltage, at least for stationary currents, is identical to that of the electrostatic potential. The movement of electrical charge in conductors, which Kirchhoff based on the Theory of the Fluid Model, he referenced back to a system of differential equations with constraints. From this, he deduced the transmission of electricity through wires. The then widespread expansion of telegraphic connections (underwater and underground) greatly profited from this work.