We encounter the name of Doppler when we listen to the weather forecast, or read about the beginning of the universe (the Big Bang, the red shift), or when we study diagnostic reports on heart disease. Who was this man who gave us the tools to explore these divergent subjects?

Christian Doppler was born in November 1803 in Salzburg, Austria, and died in Venice, Italy, on March 17, 1853. He came from a family of master stonemasons and showed exceptional gifts for this craft. But because of his poor health, his father considered him suitable for the bookkeeping function of the family business. But it soon became apparent that Doppler had outstanding talents in mathematics. He was sent to the Polytechnic School in Vienna, but he disliked the instructions and called it “a one-sided education."...