Alois Martin David

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Alois Martin David, 1816

Alois Martin David (* 8. December 1757 in Zeberheisch in Toužim , Bohemia ; † 22. February 1836 in Teplá ) was a Czech Catholic priest, Premonstratensian , astronomer, cartographer and rector of the Karl-Ferdinand University in Prague.

Life

David grew up in Tepl in western Bohemia . The pastor of the place prepared him for the attendance of the high school of the monastery Teplá. From 1776 he studied philosophy, physics, mathematics and theology at the University of Prague . In 1777 he became a master of philosophy and began studying theology. He also attended lectures by Jan Tesánek on higher mathematics, mechanics and astronomy. In 1780 he joined the Order of the Premonstratensians in Teplá Abbey and returned to Prague in 1783 to continue his studies. He received his doctorate in 1790 with a thesis on Isaac Newton's physics. In 1787 he was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in Teplá Abbey.

From 1785 onwards, Martin Alois David devoted himself increasingly to the study of astronomy, a field of research that had had an important tradition in Prague since the end of the 16th century. The Rudolfinische Tafeln , named after Emperor Rudolph II. And the research of the astronomers and mathematicians Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler had changed the worldview.

From December 4, 1789, David taught as a professor of metaphysics at the University of Prague and worked at the Prague observatory in the Clementinum . He went on trips abroad at his own expense, made contacts with local astronomers, and in 1799 became director of the observatory in Prague. David was in correspondence with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , who referred to the scholar in his diaries. From 1795 he was a member and after 1800 a permanent member of the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences . He was its secretary from 1806 to 1831 and became director of the company after 1832.

The Karl Ferdinand University in Prague elected David in 1805 as dean of the philosophical faculty. He became a member of the Society for the Promotion of Natural History and Industry in Silesia in Wroclaw . In 1809 he became a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in Munich and, in 1816, of the economic-scientific association in Leipzig . In 1816 he became rector of the Karl Ferdinand University in Prague, a member of the Moravian-Silesian Society for the Development of Agriculture, Natural Sciences and Geography and in 1822 was a member of the Danish Society for Nordic Antiquity .

In 1815 he received an important medal on ribbon for his services from Emperor Franz I , was appointed "royal astronomer" and in 1830 received the title of Imperial and Royal Councilor.

At the age of 76 he returned to the Teplá Monastery and died there on February 22, 1836.

Act

David's research mainly related to geodesy and meteorology. He improved the measurement accuracy of maps and studied solar eclipses, but also biological phenomena. David was a pioneer in the expansion of the observatory in Prague . Since there was a lack of financial donations to buy high-quality telescopes and to work scientifically, the focus of the research was on questions of geodetic astronomy. The observatory's staff began surveying the country of Bohemia in 1801 and, with the help of Edmond Halley's mirror sextants , the chronometers from the English manufacturer Josiah Emery and the demochromatic telescope from Jesse Ramsden, created a map of Bohemia that was published after 1820.

His perfecting of the determination of two points of geographical longitude attracted a lot of attention among experts. He succeeded in eliminating the time difference that then appeared between the measurements and in calculating the exact geographic longitudes of the observatories in Prague , Breslau and Dresden . Martin Alois David set up two of his own small observatories, one in the park of the Teplá Monastery and the other on Branišovský vrch.

A small planet discovered in 1989 is named after him (asteroid (6385) Martindavid = 1989 EC2).

Works

Complete directory in:

  • Uta Egert: Personal biographies of professors from the philosophy faculty in Prague in the approximate period from 1800 to 1860, (1970).
  • Gerhard Welß: Personal bibliographies of the professors and lecturers of the philosophical faculty of the Karl Ferdinand University in Prague in the approximate period from 1700 to 1800 (1971).
  • Martin Alois David wrote a biography of Isaac Newton during his studies . He published the results of his research in Pojednání Učené společnosti , later self-published. He left behind 33 articles on astronomy and topography . Many of his scientific instruments, which he made himself, have been preserved in the museum of the Teplá Abbey .

literature

See also

List of Rectors of Charles University

Web links

personal data
SURNAME David, Alois Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bohemian Premonstratensian, astronomer and cartographer
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 1757
PLACE OF BIRTH Zeberheisch
DATE OF DEATH February 22, 1836
Place of death Teplá Abbey