All Topics  
Christopher Clavius

 
Christopher Clavius

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Christopher Clavius
 
 
  Topics Christopher Clavius Topic Home

Christopher Clavius, (March 25, 1538 – February 12, 1612) was a German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Jesuit mathematician
Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics....
 and astronomer
Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies Celestial body such as planets, stars, and Galaxy.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using physical laws....
 who was the main architect of the modern Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas....
. In his last years he was probably the most respected astronomer in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and his textbooks were used for astronomical education for over fifty years in Europe and even in more remote lands (on account of being used by missionaries
Missionary

A 'missionary' is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who Proselytism. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus...
).

Very little is known about Clavius' early life other than the fact that he was born in Bamberg
Bamberg

Bamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg....
 in either 1538 or 1537 (the exact year is somewhat unknown and depends on when one assumes a new year
New Year

The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations....
 begins).






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Christopher Clavius'
Start a new discussion about 'Christopher Clavius'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Christopher Clavius
Christopher Clavius, (March 25, 1538 – February 12, 1612) was a German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Jesuit mathematician
Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics....
 and astronomer
Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies Celestial body such as planets, stars, and Galaxy.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using physical laws....
 who was the main architect of the modern Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas....
. In his last years he was probably the most respected astronomer in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and his textbooks were used for astronomical education for over fifty years in Europe and even in more remote lands (on account of being used by missionaries
Missionary

A 'missionary' is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who Proselytism. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus...
).

Very little is known about Clavius' early life other than the fact that he was born in Bamberg
Bamberg

Bamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg....
 in either 1538 or 1537 (the exact year is somewhat unknown and depends on when one assumes a new year
New Year

The New Year is an event that happens when a culture celebrates the end of one year and the beginning of the next year. Cultures that measure yearly calendars all have New Year celebrations....
 begins). His given name is not known to any great degree of certainty — it is thought by scholars to be perhaps Christoph Clau or Klau. There are also some who think that his taken name, "Clavius", may be a pun on his original German name, suggesting that his name may have been "Schlüssel" (German for "key", which is "clavis" in Latin).

Clavius joined the Jesuit order in 1555. He attended the University of Coimbra
University of Coimbra

The University of Coimbra is a Portuguese public university in Coimbra, Portugal. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in Europe and the world, the oldest university of Portugal, and one of its largest higher education and research institutions....
 in Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, where it is possible that he had some kind of contact with the famous mathematician Pedro Nunes
Pedro Nunes

Pedro Nunes , was a Portugal mathematics, cosmographer, and professor, born from a New Christian family.Nunes, considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of his time, is best known for his contributions in the technical field of navigation, which was crucial to the Portuguese Portugal in the period of discoveries....
. Following this he went to Italy and studied theology at the Jesuit Collegio Romano in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
. In 1579 he was assigned to compute the basis for a reformed calendar that would stop the slow process in which the Church's holidays were drifting relative to the seasons of the year. Using the Prussian Tables of Erasmus Reinhold
Erasmus Reinhold

Erasmus Reinhold was a Germany astronomer and mathematician, considered to be the most influential astronomical pedagogue of his generation. He was born and died in Saalfeld, Thuringia, Germany....
, he proposed a calendar reform that was adopted in 1582 in Catholic countries by order of Pope Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII

Pope Gregory XIII , born Ugo Boncompagni, was Pope from 1572 to 1585....
 and is now the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas....
 used worldwide.

Within the Jesuit order, Clavius was almost single-handedly responsible for the adoption of a rigorous mathematics curriculum in an age where mathematics was often ridiculed by philosophers and theologians.

As an astronomer Clavius held strictly to the geocentric model
Geocentric model

In astronomy, the geocentric model or The Ptolemaic worldview of the universe is the Superseded scientific theories#Superseded astronomical and cosmological theories that the Earth is the center of the universe and other objects go around it....
 of the solar system, in which all the heavens rotate about the Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
. Though he opposed the heliocentric model
Heliocentrism

In astronomy, heliocentrism is the theory that the Sun is at the center of the Universe. The word came from the Greek language . Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the earth at the center....
 of Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically-based heliocentrism cosmology that displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
, he recognized problems with the orthodox model. He was treated with great respect by Galileo
Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei was a Grand Duchy of Tuscany physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution....
, who visited him in 1611 and discussed the new observations being made with the telescope
Telescope

A telescope is an instrument designed for the observation of remote objects by the collection of electromagnetic radiation. The first known practically functioning telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century....
; Clavius had by that time accepted the new discoveries as genuine, though he retained doubts about the reality of the mountains on the Moon
Moon

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth....
. Later, a large crater
Clavius (crater)

Clavius is one of the largest Impact crater formations on the Moon, and it is the third largest crater on the visible near side. It is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon, to the south of the prominent ray crater Tycho ....
 on the Moon was named in his honour.

See also

Clavius 001
*Clavius (crater)
Clavius (crater)

Clavius is one of the largest Impact crater formations on the Moon, and it is the third largest crater on the visible near side. It is located in the rugged southern highlands of the Moon, to the south of the prominent ray crater Tycho ....
, a lunar crater named after Clavius
  • Clavius Base
    Clavius Base

    Clavius Base is a Colonization of the Moon in the fictional Space Odyssey universe created by Arthur C. Clarke.The base, named after German astronomer Christopher Clavius, is featured in both the novel and film versions of 2001: A Space Odyssey....
    , a Moon base located in the crater, according to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Aloysius Lilius
    Aloysius Lilius

    Aloysius Lilius , also Luigi Lilio or Luigi Gigliowas an Italy Physician, astronomer, philosopher and chronology who devised the Gregorian Calendar....
  • Computus
    Computus

    Computus is the calculation of the date of Easter in the Christian calendar. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, as it was one of the most important computations of the age....


External links

  • article for Christoper Clavius.
  • — biography of Christopher Clavius.
  • — the complete mathematical works of Christopher Clavius.