He was afterwards appointed professor ordinarius of philosophy at Kiel (1873), and in 1878 he was elected to the philosophical chair at Tubingen.
In 1883 he went to Kiel, becoming Privatdozent, and there he began the studies in Maxwell's electro-magnetic theory which a few years later resulted in the discoveries that rendered his name famous.
At Göttingen he remained, declining all further calls elsewhere, as to Erlangen, Kiel, Halle, Tubingen, Jena and Leipzig, until his death, which occurred on the 4th of February 1855.
The through railway traffic of Hamburg is practically confined to that proceeding northwards - to Kiel and Jutland - and for the accommodation of such trains the central (terminus) station at Altona is the chief gathering point.
He was educated at the Lubeck gymnasium and the university of Kiel, with which he was connected for nearly 65 years.