Life and achievements
Early life
Milutin Milankovitch was born on May 28, 1879, in the village of Dalj in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, today known as Croatia.
He was born the first of seven children in a reasonably well-off Serbian family. His father was a merchant and a local politician, and he died when Milankovitch was only eight years old.
His mother and other relatives took care of the family. Because of his poor health during childhood, Milankovitch was homeschooled most of the time.
His education was not very formal, but he was a very hardworking student, and his family encouraged him in mathematics and science.
This supportive atmosphere fostered his curious mind, and by the time he entered secondary school in Osijek, he already had a good grounding in technical subjects.
Milankovitch began his education at the Vienna Institute of Technology when he was 17, studying civil engineering.
He was a bright student and performed exceptionally well in his mathematics and mechanics classes. His doctoral thesis was submitted in 1904 and was based on reinforced concrete, which was to be the central area of his engineering practice in the early years.
Milankovitch then obtained his doctorate, and for several years, he was a civil engineer who designed bridges, dams, and aqueducts in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
However, although Milankovitch was a successful engineer, he wanted more from his work and sought challenging fields like mathematics and astronomy.
In 1909, Milankovitch made one of the most critical decisions: quit his engineering job and join the University of Belgrade as a professor of applied mathematics.
This was the start of his change from being an engineer to a scientist known worldwide. His passion for mathematics and desire to solve complex problems led him to pursue research in climate science, where he applied his skills to one of the most daunting challenges.
In this case, the theory can explain the occurrence of the Earth’s ice ages.
Legacy
The life of Milutin Milankovitch can be characterized as a significant impact on the development of climate science and planetary astronomy.
He developed the Milankovitch Cycles that gave the first quantitative basis for the long-term climate changes, especially the occurrence of ice ages.
His theory explained that changes in the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit, its axial tilt, and the precession of the equinoxes greatly influence the planet's climate through the amount of solar energy received at the various latitudes.
Even though his ideas were not welcomed initially, they became popular in the middle of the twentieth century when data from deep-sea cores and ice sheets supported his hypothesis.
Milankovitch’s work does not end with the climate of the Earth. He was a planetary climatologist who estimated the surface temperatures of different planets, thus providing a foundation for studying the climates of the solar system planets.
His approach to learning the Earth’s climate involved mathematics, astronomy, and geophysics, thus allowing climate sciences to shift from a primarily qualitative discipline to a quantitative one.
It is impossible to overemphasize Milankovitch's role in shaping contemporary scientific thought.
His work is now an essential reference in palaeoclimatology, helping researchers reconstruct past climate conditions and make climate projections. These projections are important in explaining the inherent fluctuations in the Earth’s climate and are often used in debates regarding global warming and climate change.
Besides his scientific work, Milankovitch was an enthusiastic teacher and a science popularizer. He authored several books for the layman, trying to demystify science for the common man.
He is still considered a great scientist, and his work still encourages new generations of scientists.
There are institutions and even research centres named after him.
Milestone moments
May 28, 1879
Birth of Milutin Milankovitch
Milutin Milankovitch was born in Dalj, Austria-Hungary, which is present-day Croatia.
He was born into a Serbian family of wealth and received his early education at home, so he was well prepared intellectually in his early years.
Milankovitch’s early years were not the best, as he suffered from many ailments that made him miss school most of the time.
His education at home, though, gave him a good grounding in mathematics and science, which only fuelled his inquisitiveness.
His father died at a very early age, which affected him a lot, but his family helped him pursue his education in Osijek and later in Vienna.
Feb 13, 1904
Vienna Institute of Technology graduation
Milankovitch got his doctorate in technical sciences, with a specialization in reinforced concrete.
His initial career was as a civil engineer, and he designed bridges, dams, and aqueducts in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Milankovitch started his career in engineering and was quite successful in his field, but he felt that he wanted to contribute to the academic field.
His engineering skills, which he developed in his early years, would later be used in the fields of astronomy and climatology.
Apr 15, 1909
Appointment as Professor at the University of Belgrade
Milankovitch then gave up his engineering job to become a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Belgrade.
This change enabled him to concentrate on research, specifically climate change research.
At the University of Belgrade, Milankovitch started working on his mathematical theory of climate and used his engineering background to solve astronomical issues.
His work would later result in the creation of the Milankovitch Cycles.
Mar 11, 1902
Publication of Mathematical Theory of Heat Phenomena
Milankovitch released his first significant work on climate science, in which he explained the mathematical theory of solar radiation and its effects on the temperature of the Earth.
This work formed the basis of his subsequent research in palaeoclimatology.
In this book, Milankovitch took a theoretical and mathematical approach to solar radiation's effect on the Earth's climate, paving the way for his subsequent works on orbital changes and their implications for climate change.