Karl von Struve

Karl von Struve (1835–1907), also known as Kirill Vasilyevich Struve, began his career as an astronomer and surveyor. He was a son of the astronomer who directed the Pulkovo Observatory and studied mathematics at St. Petersburg University. His early work included observations made during an 1858 mission toward Khiva and Bukhara and the calculation of geographic positions for mapping Central Asia. ^{1, 2}

Struve joined the Foreign Ministry’s Asian Department and worked with the Orenburg and Turkestan governors general. His scientific and diplomatic interests continued together: he helped survey the Chinese frontier and mapped parts of Turkestan before taking up diplomatic appointments in Japan. While in Tokyo he observed the transit of Venus in 1874. He became minister to the United States in 1882. ²

At the 1884 International Meridian Conference, Struve proposed Greenwich midnight as the universal day’s beginning, longitude measured east and west to 180 degrees, and universal time alongside local clocks for international transport and telegraphy. ³

In March 1887 Struve and Russian consul general Roman Rosen signed an extradition convention with Secretary of State Thomas F. Bayard. It specified offenses for which fugitives could be surrendered and rules governing the process. The agreement was ratified with amendments in 1893, after Struve had left Washington. ⁴

His final major posting was the Netherlands, beginning in 1892. He retired in 1905 because of illness and died in 1907. His wife, Maria Annenkova, was a sculptor whose work had appeared in academic exhibitions; she accompanied him to Japan and Washington before returning to Europe because of tuberculosis. She died in 1889. ²