Ludwig Franz Benedikt Biermann (March 13, 1907 in Hamm – January 12, 1986 in München) was a German astronomer, obtaining his Ph.D. from Göttingen University in 1932. He made important contributions to astrophysics and plasma physics, discovering the Biermann battery. He predicted the existence of the solar wind which in 1947 he dubbed "solar corpuscular radiation". He was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study in the fall of 1961. He won the Bruce Medal in 1967 and the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1974. Asteroid 73640 Biermann is named in his honor. References External links Bruce medal page Awards Awarding of Bruce Medal Awarding of RAS gold medal Obituaries MitAG 66 (1986) 10 QJRAS 27 (1986) 698 1907 births 1986 deaths People from Hamm 20th-century German astronomers Max Planck Society people Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars People from the Province of Westphalia Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Max Planck Institute directors