{{Short description|Swiss crystallographer (1786–1861)}} {{Hatnote|Not to be confused with the mathematician Louis Necker}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} '''Louis Albert Necker de Saussure''' FRSE MWS FGS (10 April 1786 &ndash; 20 November 1861) was a Swiss crystallographer and geographer.<ref>Forbes J D,1863. Biographical account of Professor Louis Albert Necker, of Geneva, Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. ''Proc Royal Soc Edinburgh'', 5: 53-76.</ref> frame|Necker cube on the left, impossible cube on the right. He is best remembered for devising the optical illusion now known as the Necker cube.<ref>Wade N J, Campbell R N, Ross H E, Lingelbach B, 2010. Necker in Scotch perspective.' ''Perception'', 39: 1-4.</ref>

==Life==

He was born in the Republic of Geneva, the son of botanist Professor Jacques Necker, nephew and namesake of statesman Jacques Necker, and Albertine Necker de Saussure.<ref>{{cite book|title=Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002|date=July 2006|publisher=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|isbn=0-902-198-84-X|url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp1.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/necker-louis-albertknown-necker-de-saussure | title=Necker, Louis-Albert, known as Necker De Saussure | publisher=encyclopedia.com | work=Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography | accessdate=5 September 2019 }}</ref><ref name=Joseph>{{cite book|last=Joseph|first=John E.|title=Saussure|date=22 March 2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, U.K|isbn=9780199695652|pages=33|edition=1st}}</ref>

He was educated in Geneva, then sent to Edinburgh University in Scotland to study Sciences from 1806 to 1808.

The Necker cube is an optical illusion that was first published as a rhomboid in 1832 by him.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Necker |first=L. A. |year=1832 |title=Observations on some remarkable optical phaenomena seen in Switzerland; and on an optical phaenomenon which occurs on viewing a figure of a crystal or geometrical solid |journal=London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=329–337 |doi=10.1080/14786443208647909 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1430991 }}</ref>

He returned to Scotland in 1841 and settled on the Isle of Skye, lodging with the Cameron family at Bosville Terrace in Portree. His scientific interests turned to astronomy and a study of the aurora borealis. In 1843 and 1845, he was joined by his friend, James Forbes, a physicist and glaciologist. Together, they made the first accurate map of the Cuillins.<ref name=Port>{{cite web | url=https://neuroportraits.eu/portrait/louis-albert-necker | title=Louis Albert Necker1786–1861 | publisher=Portraits of European Neuroscientists | accessdate=3 November 2019 }}</ref>

He spent his later life mountaineering and collecting ornithological specimens. He died in Portree on 20 November 1861.<ref>Mitchell J R. On the trail of Necker, from Geneva to Portree. ''West Highland Free Press'', 12 July 2002, p. 15.</ref> He is buried next to the Cameron family in the Portree churchyard.<ref name=Port />

== Works == *''Mémoire sur les oiseaux des environs de Genève'', Genève : Chez J.J. Paschoud, 1823. {{OCLC|12072634}} *''Voyage en Écosse et aux Iles Hébrides.'' Genève, Paris, J.J. Paschoud, 1821. {{OCLC|3759700}} *''Memoire sur la vallée de Valorsine'', Genève : J. Barbezat et comp., 1828. {{OCLC|30521860}} *''Mémoire sur le Mont Somma.'' Genève. : Barbezat et Delarue. 1828. {{OCLC|68706185}} *''Le règne minéral ramené aux méthodes de l'histoire naturelle'', Paris : Levrault, 1835. {{OCLC|8739030}} *''Études géologiques dans les Alpes'', Paris : Pitois : Langlois et Leclercq; Strasbourg : Levrault, 1841. {{OCLC|77840885}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Necker, Louis Albert}} Category:18th-century scientists from the Republic of Geneva Category:1786 births Category:1861 deaths Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Category:Swiss emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:People from the Isle of Skye Category:Fellows of the Geological Society of London