JOHN AND LOUISA TYNDALL: THE YEARS ON THE BELALP

Description

John Tyndall (1820–1893) was one of the most significant scientists of the 19th century. But Tyndall was much more: as an alpinist, lecturer, science philosopher, and poet, he embodied the Victorian ideal of the universal scholar. Brilliant, ambitious, and at times contentious, his personality was as multifaceted as his work. In recent years, there has been a renewed scientific interest in Tyndall, but previous research has hardly considered that he spent every summer on the Belalp between 1861 and 1893—nearly a quarter of his life, and at the same time the phase of his greatest scientific and literary productivity. The Belalp became Tyndall's 'Magic Mountain' during these more than 30 years, his creative refuge where he developed new scientific ideas, read, wrote, and experimented. The lecture focuses on this previously overlooked living space and traces Tyndall's multifaceted relationship with the Belalp: from his first stays in the 1860s through the particularly productive decades of the 1870s and 1880s to Louisa's return after Tyndall's death in the 1890s, when she, as a widow, took on the role of guardian of his memory. Roger Meyenberg, Dr. phil., studied at the universities of Fribourg, Kent at Canterbury, and York. He is an independent scholar in the humanities, with a particular interest in literature, philosophy, biography, and the history of science in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Highlights

• Lecture on John Tyndall's life and work
• Focus on his time spent on the Belalp
• Presented by independent scholar Roger Meyenberg

General Information

This event explores the life of John Tyndall, a prominent 19th-century scientist, alpinist, and philosopher. The lecture will delve into Tyndall's significant summers spent on the Belalp, highlighting his scientific productivity and personal connections to the area.

Location

Schlossstrasse 30, 3900 Brig, Switzerland

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