Max Planck

:This article is about Planck, the German physicist. For the proposed European Space Agency artificial satellite, see "Planck (satellite)".

Family

In March 1887 Planck married Marie Merck (1861-1909), sister of a school fellow, and

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moved with her into a sublet apartment in Kiel. Four children were born to the couple:

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Karl (1888-1916), the twins Emma (1889-1919) and Grete (1889-1917), and Erwin (1893-1945).

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After the appointment to Berlin the Planck family lived in a villa in Berlin-Grunewald, Wangenheimstraße 21. In the vicinity of this address several other professors of Berlin University

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were living, among them the famous theologian Adolf von Harnack, who became a close friend of Planck. Soon the Planck home became a social and cultural centre; numerous well-known scientist were frequent visitors, such as Albert Einstein, Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner.

Related Topics:
Adolf von Harnack - Albert Einstein - Otto Hahn - Lise Meitner

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The tradition of jointly playing music had already been established in the home of Helmholtz.

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After several happy years the Planck family was struck by a series of disasters: In October 1909 Marie Planck died, possibly from tuberculosis. In March 1911 Max Planck married his second wife, Marga von Hoesslin (1882-1948), in December his third son, Herrmann, was born.

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During the First World War Planck's oldest son, Karl, was killed in action in Verdun, Erwin had already in 1914 been taken prisoner by the French. Grete died in 1917 while giving birth to her first child; her sister lost her life two years later under the same circumstances, after marrying the widower of Grete. Both granddaughters survived and were named after their mothers.

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Planck endured all these losses with stoic submission into fate.

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Finally in January 1945 Erwin, to whom Max Planck had been particularly close, was executed by the Nazis because of his participation in the failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in July 1944.

Related Topics:
Erwin - Failed attempt to assassinate Hitler

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