# Louis Albert Necker
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{{Short description|Swiss crystallographer (1786–1861)}}
{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with the mathematician [Louis Necker](/source/Louis_Necker)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
'''Louis Albert Necker de Saussure''' [FRSE](/source/Fellowship_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh) MWS FGS (10 April 1786 – 20 November 1861) was a Swiss [crystallographer](/source/crystallography) and geographer.[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.]
frame|Necker cube on the left, impossible cube on the right.
He is best remembered for devising the [optical illusion](/source/optical_illusion) now known as the [Necker cube](/source/Necker_cube).[Wade N J, Campbell R N, Ross H E, Lingelbach B, 2010. Necker in Scotch perspective.' ''Perception'', 39: 1-4.]
==Life==
He was born in the [Republic of Geneva](/source/Republic_of_Geneva), the son of botanist Professor Jacques Necker, nephew and namesake of statesman [Jacques Necker](/source/Jacques_Necker), and [Albertine Necker de Saussure](/source/Albertine_Necker_de_Saussure).[{{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}}][{{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 }}][{{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}}]
He was educated in [Geneva](/source/Geneva), then sent to [Edinburgh University](/source/Edinburgh_University) in [Scotland](/source/Scotland) to study Sciences from 1806 to 1808.
The [Necker cube](/source/Necker_cube) is an [optical illusion](/source/optical_illusion) that was first published as a [rhomboid](/source/rhomboid) in 1832 by him.[{{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 }}]
He returned to Scotland in 1841 and settled on the [Isle of Skye](/source/Isle_of_Skye), lodging with the Cameron family at Bosville Terrace in [Portree](/source/Portree). His scientific interests turned to astronomy and a study of the [aurora borealis](/source/aurora_borealis). In 1843 and 1845, he was joined by his friend, [James Forbes](/source/James_David_Forbes), a physicist and glaciologist. Together, they made the first accurate map of the [Cuillins](/source/Cuillins).[{{cite web | url=https://neuroportraits.eu/portrait/louis-albert-necker | title=Louis Albert Necker1786–1861 | publisher=Portraits of European Neuroscientists | accessdate=3 November 2019 }}]
He spent his later life mountaineering and collecting ornithological specimens. He died in [Portree](/source/Portree) on 20 November 1861.[Mitchell J R. On the trail of Necker, from Geneva to Portree. ''West Highland Free Press'', 12 July 2002, p. 15.] He is buried next to the Cameron family in the Portree churchyard.