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Regiomontanus

Johannes Mller von Knigsberg , known by his Latin Latin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language [i] originally spoken in Latium [i], ... 

 pseudonym Regiomontanus, was an important German Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country [i] in central Europe [i]. ... 

 mathematician Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics [i]. ... 

, astronomer Astronomer

An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy [i] or astrophysics [i] ... 

 and astrologer. He was born in the Franconia Franconia

Franconia is a historic region in Germany [i], which today forms three administrative regions of the German federal state [i] ... 

n village of Unfinden near Knigsberg, Bavaria . He is also called Johannes Mller, der Knigsberger . His full Latin Latin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language [i] originally spoken in Latium [i], ... 

 name was Joannes de Regio monte, which abbreviated to Regiomontanus .

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Timeline

1436   Born

1476   Died



Encyclopedia



Johannes Müller von Königsberg , known by his Latin Latin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language [i] originally spoken in Latium [i], ... 

 pseudonym Regiomontanus, was an important German Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country [i] in central Europe [i]. ... 

 mathematician Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of mathematics [i]. ... 

, astronomer Astronomer

An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy [i] or astrophysics [i] ... 

 and astrologer. He was born in the Franconia Franconia

Franconia is a historic region in Germany [i], which today forms three administrative regions of the German federal state [i] ... 

n village of Unfinden near Königsberg, Bavaria .

He is also called Johannes Müller, der Königsberger . His full Latin Latin

Latin is an ancient Indo-European language [i] originally spoken in Latium [i], ... 

 name was Joannes de Regio monte, which abbreviated to Regiomontanus .

Biography


At eleven years of age, he became a student at the university in Leipzig Leipzig

Leipzig [] is the largest city in the federal state [i] of Saxony [i] in Germany [i] ... 

, Saxony Saxony

The Free State of Saxony has a land area of 18,413 km and a population of 4.3 million, the tenth-larges... 

. Three years later he continued his studies at Alma Mater Rudolfina University of Vienna

name =University of Vienna
... 

, the university in Vienna Vienna

Vienna is the capital [i] of Austria [i], and also one of the nine States of Austria [i]. ... 

, Austria Austria

Austria is a landlocked [i] country in central Europe [i]. ... 

. There he became a pupil and friend of Georg von Peurbach. In 1457 he graduated with a degree of "magister artium" and held lecture Lecture

A lecture is an oral presentation [i] intended to teach people about a particular subject, for example b ... 

s in optics Optics

Optics is a branch of physics [i] that describes the behavior and properties of light [i] and the inter ... 

 and ancient literature. He built astrolabe Astrolabe

The astrolabe is a historical astronomical [i] instrument [i] used by classical astronomers [i] ... 

s for Matthias Corvinus of Hungary Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

Matthias Corvinus was King [i] of Hungary [i], ruling between 1458 [i]... 

 and Cardinal Bessarion Johannes Cardinal Bessarion

Basilius Bessarion(c. 1403-1472), mistakenly known also as Johannes Bessarion due to an erroneous ... 

, and in 1465 a portable sundial Sundial

A sundial measures time [i] by the position of the sun [i].
... 

 for Pope Paul II Pope Paul II

Pope Paul II , born Pietro Barbo, was Pope [i] from 1464 [i] until his death.
... 

. His work with Peurbach brought him to the writings of Nicholas of Cusa Nicholas of Cusa

Nicholas of Cusa was a German [i] cardinal [i] of the Catholic Church [i], a philosopher [i] ... 

 , who held a heliocentric Heliocentrism

In astronomy [i], heliocentrism is the theory [i] that the Sun [i] is at the center of the Universe [i]... 

 view. Regiomontanus, however, remained a geocentrist after Ptolemy Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy, was a Greek-speaking geographer [i], astronomer [i]... 

. Following Peurbach's death, he continued the translation of Ptolemy's Almagest Almagest

Almagest is the Latin [i] form of the Arabic [i] name of an astronomical [i] treatis ... 

 which Peurbach had begun at the initiative of Johannes Bessarion Johannes Cardinal Bessarion

Basilius Bessarion(c. 1403-1472), mistakenly known also as Johannes Bessarion due to an erroneous ... 

. From 1461 to 1465 Regiomontanus lived and worked at Cardinal Bessarion's house in Rome Rome

Rome is the capital [i] of Italy [i] and of its region, called Latium [i]. ... 

. He wrote De Triangulis omnimodus and Epytoma in almagesti Ptolemei. De Triangulis was one of the first textbooks presenting the current state of trigonometry Trigonometry

Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics [i] dealing with angle [i]s, triangle [i]s and trigonometric function [i] ... 

 and included lists of questions for review of individual chapters. In it he wrote:

"You who wish to study great and wonderful things, who wonder about the movement of the stars, must read these theorems about triangles. Knowing these ideas will open the door to all of astronomy and to certain geometric problems."


In the Epytoma he critiqued the translation, pointing out inaccuracies. Later Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer [i] who provided the first modern formulation of a heliocentric [i] ... 

 would refer to this book as an influence on his own work. In 1467 Regiomontanus left Rome to work at the court of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

Matthias Corvinus was King [i] of Hungary [i], ruling between 1458 [i]... 

. There he calculated extensive astronomical tables and built astronomical instruments.

In 1471 he moved to the Free City of Nuremberg Nuremberg

Nuremberg is a city [i] in the German [i] state [i] of Bavaria [i], in the administrative region [i] ... 

, in Franconia Franconia

Franconia is a historic region in Germany [i], which today forms three administrative regions of the German federal state [i] ... 

, then one of the Empire's important seats of learning, publication, commerce and art. He associated with the humanist and merchant Bernard Walther who sponsored the observatory and the printing press. Regiomontanus remains famous for having built at Nuremberg the first astronomical observatory in Germany, perhaps in Europe. In 1472 he published the first printed astronomical textbook, the "Theoricae novae Planetarum" of his teacher Georg von Peurbach.

In 1475 he went to Rome to work with Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV

Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere [i], was Pope [i] from 1471 [i] to 1484 [i]. ... 

 on calendar reform Calendar reform

Calendar reform is any proposed reform of the calendar.
... 

. On the way he could publish his "Ephemeris" in Venice. Regiomontanus died mysteriously in Rome, July 61476, a month after his fortieth birthday Birthday

A birthday is the date on which a person is born [i], marking the day a life outside the womb ... 

. Some say he died of plague Black Death

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a devastating pandemic [i] that first struck ... 

, others by assassin Assassination

Assassination is the deliberate killing of an important person, usually a political figure or other stra... 

ation.

Domenico Maria Novara da Ferrara, the teacher of Nicolaus Copernicus, referred to Regiomontanus as having been his own teacher.

A prolific author, Regiomontanus was internationally famous already in his lifetime. Despite having completed only a quarter of what he had intended to write, he left a substantial body of work.

It is not true that he came to be called posthumously after the place of his birth, Königsberg . In Regiomontanus' day it was common for scholars to Latinize their names when publishing. Copernicus did likewise, which is why we do not know him today by his actual name, Nikolai Kopernik.

Regiomontanus and Astrology

One biographer has claimed to have detected a decline in Regiomontanus' interest in astrology Astrology

Astrology is a group of system [i]s, tradition [i]s, and belief [i]s in which knowledge of the relative ... 

 over his life, and came close to asserting that Regiomontanus had rejected it altogether. But more recent commentators have suggested that the occasional expression of skepticism about astrological Astrology

Astrology is a group of system [i]s, tradition [i]s, and belief [i]s in which knowledge of the relative ... 

 prognostication reflected a disquiet about the procedural rigour of the art, not about its underlying principles. It seems plausible that, like some other astronomers Astronomer

An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy [i] or astrophysics [i] ... 

, Regiomontanus concentrated his efforts on mathematical Mathematics

Mathematics is the discipline that deals with concepts such as quantity [i], structure [i], space [i] a ... 

 astronomy Astronomy

Astronomy is the science [i] of celestial objects and phenomena [i] that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere [i] ... 

 because he felt that astrology Astrology

Astrology is a group of system [i]s, tradition [i]s, and belief [i]s in which knowledge of the relative ... 

 could not be placed on a sound footing until the celestial motions had been modeled accurately.

In his youth, Regiomontanus had cast horoscopes Horoscope

In astrology [i], a horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the planets, other cel ... 

  for famous patrons. His Tabulae directionum, completed in Hungary Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked [i] country in Central Europe [i], ... 

, were designed for astrological Astrology

Astrology is a group of system [i]s, tradition [i]s, and belief [i]s in which knowledge of the relative ... 

 use and contained a discussion of different ways of determining astrological houses House (astrology)

Most Western astrological [i] systems divide the horoscope [i] into a number of houses whose p ... 

. The calendars for 1475-1531 which he printed at Nuremberg Nuremberg

Nuremberg is a city [i] in the German [i] state [i] of Bavaria [i], in the administrative region [i] ... 

 contained only limited astrological information—a method of finding times for bloodletting Bloodletting

Bloodletting was a popular medical [i] practice from antiquity up to the late 19th century, in ... 

 according to the position of the moon Moon

The Moon is Earth [i]'s only natural satellite [i]. ... 

; subsequent editors added material.

But perhaps the works most indicative of Regiomontanus' hopes for an empirically sound astrology were his almanac Almanac

An almanac is an annual publication containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often... 

s or ephemerides, produced first in Vienna Vienna

Vienna is the capital [i] of Austria [i], and also one of the nine States of Austria [i]. ... 

 for his own benefit, and printed in Nuremberg Nuremberg

Nuremberg is a city [i] in the German [i] state [i] of Bavaria [i], in the administrative region [i] ... 

 for the years 1475-1506. Weather prediction Weather forecasting

Weather [i] forecasting is the application of current technology and science to predict the state of the ... 

s and observations were juxtaposed by Regiomontanus in his manuscript almanacs, and the form of the printed text enabled scholars to enter their own weather observations in order to likewise check astrological Astrology

Astrology is a group of system [i]s, tradition [i]s, and belief [i]s in which knowledge of the relative ... 

 predictions; extant copies reveal that several did so. Regiomontanus' Ephemeris would be used in 1504, by a Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus Italian [i] Cristoforo Colombo; Spanish [i]: ... 

 stranded on Jamaica Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation [i] of the Greater Antilles [i], 240 kilometres in length and as much as 85 ... 

, to intimidate the natives into continuing to provision him and his crew from their scanty food stocks, when he successfully predicted a lunar eclipse Lunar eclipse

An eclipse [i] refers to the phenomenon of one body passing into the shadow cast by another body. ... 

 for February 29, 1504.

Regiomontanus did not live to produce the special commentary to the ephemerides that he had promised would reveal the advantages the almanacs held for the multifarious activities of physician Physician

A physician is a person who practices biological medicine [i]. ... 

s, for human births Childbirth

Childbirth is the culmination of a human [i] pregnancy [i] with the emergence of a newborn infant [i] fr ... 

 and the telling of the future Future

In a linear conception of time [i], the future is the portion of the timeline that has yet to occur, i.e... 

, for weather Weather

Weather is an all-encompassing term used to describe all of the many and varied phenomena [i] that c ... 

 forecasting, for the inauguration of employment Employment

Employment is a contract [i] between two parties, one being the employer [i] and the oth ... 

, and for a host of other activities, although this lack was again made good by subsequent editors. Nevertheless Regiomontanus' promise suggests that he either was as convinced of the validity and utility of astrology Astrology

Astrology is a group of system [i]s, tradition [i]s, and belief [i]s in which knowledge of the relative ... 

 as his contemporaries, or was willing to set aside his misgivings for the sake of commercial success.

Regiomontanus crater Regiomontanus

Johannes Mller von Knigsberg , known by his Latin [i] pseudonym [i] Regiomontanus, was an importan ... 

, on the Moon Moon

The Moon is Earth [i]'s only natural satellite [i]. ... 

, is named after him.

External links

  • Adam Mosley, , web site at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science of the University of Cambridge .