Julius Reichelt was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 mathematician

Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....

 and astronomer

Astronomer

An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.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...

 who may have set up the first observatory

Observatory

An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...

 in the city of Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

.

Biography

Julius Reichelt was born on January 5, 1637 in the city of Strasbourg. In 1644 at the age of 16 he was enrolled as a student and graduated as Doctor of Philosophy in 1660. He was nominated as Professor of Mathematics in 1667. Reichelt traveled through Northern Europe

Northern Europe

Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...

 some time after 1666 and met other notable 17th century scientists and thinkers such as Jan Hudde, Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish:Some sources refer to Hevelius as German:*Encyplopedia Britannica * of the Royal Society was a councilor and mayor of Danzig , Pomeranian Voivodeship, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...

, Andreas Concius, Henrik Ruse

Henrik Ruse

Henrik Ruse , later Baron Henrik Rysensteen , was a Dutch officer and fortification engineer...

, Johannes Meyer

Johannes Meyer

Johannes Meyer , was a Danish film actor.He debuted in the theater in 1905.-Filmography:*De blaa drenge - 1933*Så til søs - 1933*Flugten fra millionerne - 1934*Lynet - 1934*Nøddebo Præstegård - 1934...

, Rasmus Bartholin

Rasmus Bartholin

Rasmus Bartholin was a Danish scientist and physician. As part of his studies, he travelled in Europe for ten years. Professor at the University of Copenhagen, first in Geometry, later in Medicine...

, and Adam Olearius

Adam Olearius

Adam Olearius , born Adam Ölschläger or Oehlschlaeger, was a German scholar, mathematician, geographer and librarian...

. After his return from his trip Reichelt may have proposed the building of the "turret lantern" as an astronomical observatory at the top of Strasbourg's Hospital Gate based on the Rundetårn

Rundetårn

The Rundetårn is a 17th-century tower located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. One of the many architectural projects of Christian IV, it was built as an astronomical observatory...

 (Round Tower) he saw in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

. Reichelt died in Strasbourg on February 19, 1717.

Reference

• Strasbourg's "First" Astronomical Observatory by André Heck, Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage (JAH2), published 2010