Ludwig Struve - Late Years

Late Years

Struve was married to Elizaveta Khrystoforovna (1874–1964) and they had two sons and two daughters. Their first child, son Otto, was born in Kharkiv in 1897, and later became one of the most famous astronomers of the 20th century. Later, Otto served as a White Russian officer in the losing side of the civil war that followed the Russian Revolution. Therefore, to avoid Bolshevik's repressions, Struve had to move in 1919 to Simferopol where he had assumed professor position at the Tavria University. He left in Kharkiv a collection of about 1400 historical letters involving his father and grandfather, Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve. The collection had survived two wars and was preserved till the present days.

After leaving Kharkiv, life of the Struve turned tragic. In summer of 1920, his 9 year old daughter Elizabeth drowned in front of him. Later, his son Werner (1903–1920) died from tuberculosis. Soon after, Struve himself died of a stroke. He was survived by his wife and daughter Yadviga (1901–1924). They returned to Kharkiv and Yadviga had taught German at Kharkiv Technology Institute, but died in 1924 of tuberculosis.