Gustav Kirchhoff

Gustav Kirchhoff
Born	Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-03-12)12 March 1824 Königsberg, Province of East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Confederation
Died	17 October 1887(1887-10-17) (aged 63) Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Nationality	Prussian (1824–1871) German (1871–1887)
Alma mater	University of Königsberg
Known for	Kirchhoff's circuit laws Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation Kirchhoff's laws of spectroscopy Kirchhoff's law of thermochemistry
Awards	Rumford medal (1862) Davy Medal (1877) Matteucci Medal (1877) Janssen Medal (1887)
Scientific career
Fields	Physics Chemistry
Institutions	University of Berlin University of Breslau University of Heidelberg
Doctoral advisor	Franz Ernst Neumann[citation needed]
Notable students	Loránd Eötvös Edward Nichols Gabriel Lippmann[citation needed] Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev Max Planck Jules Piccard Max Noether Heike Kamerlingh Onnes Ernst Schröder

Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (German: [ˈkɪʁçhɔf]; 12 March 1824 – 17 October 1887) was a German physicist and mathematician who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and the emission of black-body radiation by heated objects.^[1][2]

He coined the term black-body radiation in 1860.

Several different sets of concepts are named "Kirchhoff's laws" after him, which include Kirchhoff's circuit laws, Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation, and Kirchhoff's law of thermochemistry.

The Bunsen–Kirchhoff Award for spectroscopy is named after Kirchhoff and his colleague, Robert Bunsen.