6 



CHAPTER II 

 BOYHOOD: 1821-1838 



HERMANN LUDWIG FERDINAND HELMHOLTZ was born on 

 August 31, 1821, at Potsdam, in the house known as No. 8 

 Hoditzstrasse, and was baptized on October 7 in the Lutheran 

 Church of the Holy Spirit. 



For the first seven years of his life he was an ailing child, 

 confined to his room for long periods, and often to his bed, 

 but he was energetic in work and play : his time was occupied 

 with picture-books and games, more especially with wooden 

 blocks, and his mental powers were carefully fostered by his 

 parents. Each infantile disorder from which he suffered re- 

 newed the anxiety of his tenderly attached family. ' I heard/ 

 writes Frau von Bernuth, his father's cousin (and the daughter 

 of Surgeon-General Mursinna of Berlin), 'that your son had 

 scarlet fever ; and feared the worst as he is so delicate. Thank 

 God that he has recovered! You must not be distressed 

 because he has learned little so far. I am sure it will be for 

 his good not to begin before his eighth year. Alexander von 

 Humboldt learned nothing before he was eight, and now the 

 King has made him President of the Academy of Sciences, 

 with the title of Excellency, and a big yearly stipend and 

 this is what I predict for your son/ 



When he was seven years old, Hermann, though still in 

 delicate health, was sent to the Normal School of Potsdam, 

 and even there astonished his masters in the Geometry Class, 

 because (thanks to his toy blocks) he knew all the facts which 

 they expected him to learn. His health improved by degrees 

 with gymnastics and daily bathing, and his great love of Nature 

 was developed at the same time by frequent walks with his 

 father in the beautiful environs of his native town. In the 

 spring of 1832, he was admitted to the lowest form of the 

 Gymnasium, where he followed the teaching easily enough, 



