10 Facts About Marcel Minnaert

Marcel Gilles Jozef Minnaert was a Belgian-Dutch astronomer.

Marcel Minnaert was born in Bruges and died in Utrecht.

Marcel Minnaert is notable for his contributions to astronomy and physics and for a popular book on meteorological optics: Light and colour in the open air, first published in English in 1940.

Marcel Minnaert was a supporter of the Flemish movement during World War I and endorsed the replacement of French by Dutch during the German occupation of Belgium.

Marcel Minnaert worked as "lector fysica" at the new Flemish University of Ghent, which was made possible by the support of the German occupation forces, and was viewed as connivance with the enemy by the reestablished Belgian authorities.

However, Marcel Minnaert had anticipated this outcome by fleeing Belgium in time.

Marcel Minnaert specialized in spectroscopy and the study of stellar atmospheres and invented the spectroscopic curve of growth.

Marcel Minnaert was interested in bubbles and musical nature of the sounds made by running water.

Marcel Minnaert was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1959.

Marcel Minnaert became a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1964 and the American Philosophical Society in 1969.