Köppen, Wladimir (1846–1940)

Wladimir Peter Köppen was born on September 25, 1846, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Although best known for his climate classification system, he was originally trained as a botanist. His scientific work, which includes 526 published research articles and numerous books written between 1868 and 1940, is recognized in the fields of geography, meteorology, climatology, and botany. He died on June 22, 1940, in Graz, Austria.

Köppen lived in Russia until he was 20 years old. He had an early curiosity about the environment due to his mother's interest in botany and the family's travels. He started his studies at the University of St. Petersburg in 1864. He later went to the University of Heidelberg for graduate studies. In 1869, Köppen transferred to the University of Leipzig, where he studied climate impacts on plant growth. He earned his doctoral degree in 1870.

Köppen worked for the Central Physical Observatory at St. Petersburg from 1872 to 1874, where he published 12 research articles. He moved on to the North German Sea Watch, a naval observatory in Hamburg, in 1875, where he developed a forecasting service for northwestern Germany and nearby waters, described the motion of cold fronts, and studied the upper atmosphere. Along with Matthew Maury, he produced wind charts that were valuable to ocean traders and the military. The maps were later used by Tor Bergeron during his research on air masses. While at the naval observatory, Köppen returned to research in climatology and botany.

In the mid 1880s Köppen published a map showing the relationships between temperature regions and vegetation growth. This research resulted in his first attempt at climate classification in 1900, but his early system did not receive much recognition. Subsequent work led to the development of his widely known classification scheme in 1918. The system attempted to explain vegetation distribution using temperature and precipitation data. Köppen revised the system multiple times and published his final version in 1936, although he kept editing it until his death. Despite later modification by others, the basic structure has remained intact. It continues to be one of the most commonly taught climate classification systems.

Among Köppen's other contributions are several books. The Climate of Geological Prehistory, which he published with Alfred Wegener in 1924, added to the Milankovitch theory, which explains Earth's glacial and interglacial periods. It was one of the first books in the field of paleoclimatology. Köppen also worked with Rudolph Geiger to publish a five-volume set called Handbook of Climatology between 1926 and 1940.