astronomy

Niels Ebbesen Hansen

Niels Ebbesen Hansen is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Niels Ebbesen Hansen rather than just read about it. In short: Niels Ebbesen Hansen (January 4, 1866 – October 5, 1950) was a Danish-American horticulturist, botanist, and agricultural explorer for the United States Department of Agriculture and the state of South Dakota. He searched the harsh environments of northern Scandinavia, Siberia, Manchuria, and the dry steppes of the Volga for plant stock that could flourish on the upper Great Plains.

Key takeaways

Niels Ebbesen Hansen belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Niels Ebbesen Hansen to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Niels Ebbesen Hansen from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Niels Ebbesen Hansen (January 4, 1866 – October 5, 1950) was a Danish-American horticulturist, botanist, and agricultural explorer for the United States Department of Agriculture and the state of South Dakota. He searched the harsh environments of northern Scandinavia, Siberia, Manchuria, and the dry steppes of the Volga for plant stock that could flourish on the upper Great Plains.

Biography Niels Ebbesen Hansen was born the youngest of three children in Lustrupholm, Denmark, a small farm, in Ribe County, Denmark. He was the son of Danish-born muralist Andreas Hansen and Bodil Midtgaard. Hansen's mother died when he was a year and a half old. His father married Katrine Petersen two years later. Andreas Hansen emigrated to the United States in 1872 and sent for Katrine and Niels the following year. In 1876, the family moved to Des Moines, Iowa. Hansen left high school at the beginning of his junior year to work as a messenger for Iowa Secretary of State John A.T. Hull. He saved his money and continued his education through private lessons and in 1883 entered Iowa Agricultural College (Iowa State University) in Ames·. Funding his education continued to be a problem. He took a year off after his freshman year to return to his job with Hull but continued his independent study. Upon turning 18, he received his inheritance from his late mother's estate and was able to finish college without further interruptions He was induced to return to Iowa State, where he was awarded his Master of Science degree in 1895.

Career In 1895, South Dakota State College (now South Dakota State University), appointed Hansen to build its Horticultural Department. He also served as the director of the South Dakota Experiment Station at Brookings.

On an 1897 trip to Russia, he encountered the red-fleshed wild apple Malus niedzwetskyana and began two breeding programs based on this unusual fruit, one aimed at developing a cold-hardy cooking and eating apple, and the other aimed at developing ornamental crabapples. His efforts resulted in the Almata apple and the Hopa crabapple, among other varieties. When he discovered that the northwest apple breeder Albert Etter had beaten him to the punch in creating red-fleshed hybrids, he wrote to concede him priority with the words "Mr. Etter, you have defeated me in my destiny." A collection of the records, faculty papers, and related materials of Niels Ebbesen Hansen are maintained in the Archives of South Dakota State University.

Selected works Notes on the breeding of fruits (1893) Fruit stocks where the mercury freezes (1931) The wild alfalfas and clovers of Siberia, with a perspective view of the alfalfas of the world (1909) Some Sterile And Fertile Plant Hybrids (1926) Fruits, old and new and northern plant novelties (1937)

References

Other sources Rumbaugh, M. D N.E. Hansen's contributions to alfalfa breeding in North America (Bulletin / Agricultural Experiment Station, South Dakota State University. 1979) Loen, Helen Hansen, The banebryder (the trail breaker): The Travel Records of Niels Ebbesen Hansen, 1897-1934 (Kalamazoo, Mich.: H. Loen. 2002) Loen, Helen Hansen, With a Brush and Muslin Bag: the Life of Niels Ebbesen Hansen (Kalamazoo, Mich.: H. Loen. 2003) Loen, Helen Hansen, The Journals of Niels Ebbesen Hansen, 1879-1892 (Kalamazoo, Mich.: H. Loen. 2004)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Niels Ebbesen Hansen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Niels Ebbesen Hansen claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Niels Ebbesen Hansen before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Niels Ebbesen Hansen ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Niels Ebbesen Hansen

In research: Niels Ebbesen Hansen appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Niels Ebbesen Hansen in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Niels Ebbesen Hansen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1866 births, 1950 deaths, American agronomists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Niels Ebbesen Hansen outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Niels Ebbesen Hansen” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Niels Ebbesen Hansen in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Niels Ebbesen Hansen means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Niels Ebbesen Hansen out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Niels Ebbesen Hansen in simple terms?

Why does Niels Ebbesen Hansen matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Niels Ebbesen Hansen?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Niels Ebbesen Hansen.