Adolf von Ende

His parents were Gotthelf Dietrich von Ende (4 June 1726 – 13 October 1798) and his wife Countess Johanna Adelheid von der Schulenburg-Wolfsburg (27 November 1735 – 12 May 12, 1805). His father was royal British and Hanoverian minister of state, real privy councillor and heir to Monzig near Meißen; his mother was the daughter of the Prussian general Adolph Friedrich von der Schulenburg. His brother was the Prussian general and commander of Cologne Friedrich Albrecht Gotthilf von Ende.^[1][2]

Von Ende was prepared by his tutors to study at university. He studied in Leipzig under the guidance of Hofmeister Höpfer and later moved to Göttingen,^[2] where he became a member of the Landsmannschaft der Kurländer (student association).^{[note 1]} His silhouette from his time in Göttingen is preserved in the Schubert silhouette collection.

In 1780 he became a law firm auditor in Celle, in 1783 he became an extraordinary judicial councillor in Stade, then a full judicial councillor and, after a few years, senior appellate councillor in Celle. He stayed there until 1803. He then entered the service of the Elector of Württemberg and from 1806 to 1809 became head of the justice department in the Württemberg State Ministry in Stuttgart. From 1810, von Ende was the Baden secret legation councillor in Karlsruhe and from this time lived in Mannheim.^[2]

He died unmarried in Cologne.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to his professional interest in law, von Ende also pursued historical studies. For example, he drew attention to some unclear passages in the works of Strabo and Cicero. He also had a strong interest in astronomy. He tried to observe for himself all celestial phenomena, such as eclipses, star occultations and comets (especially the Great Comet of 1811). On his travels he often took portable instruments (especially sextant and watch) with him to determine geographical locations, for example on a trip to Leipzig and Dresden in 1799. In Celle he set up an observatory on his house, whose instruments he later took with him to Mannheim. He eventually sold his reflector to Mannheim Observatory and showed great interest in its financial provision.^[2]

Together with Johann Hieronymus Schröter, Franz Xaver von Zach, Johann Gildemeister, Wilhelm Olbers and Karl Ludwig Harding, he founded the Vereinigte Astronomische Gesellschaft in 1800.