Antonín Strnad

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Commemorative plaque for the 200th anniversary of death in Náchod

Antonín Strnad (also: Anton Strnad ; Anton Strnadt ; born August 10, 1746 in Náchod ; † September 23, 1799 in Sazená ) was a Bohemian mathematician , astronomer and meteorologist and director of the observatory and the mathematical museum of the Prague Clementinum .

Life

Antonín Strnad was the son of a councilor or councilor. He attended the Königgrätzer Gymnasium, where u. a. Jan Tesánek taught who recognized and promoted Strnad's mathematical talent. After completing high school, Strnad joined the Jesuit Order in 1763 , which took over the further training costs after Strnad's father got into financial difficulties due to the Silesian Wars . Strnad carried out meteorological measurements while he was a member of the order.

After the dissolution of the Jesuit order in 1773, Strnad studied at the Charles University in Prague , which had been merged with the faculties of the Clementinum and called itself Karl Ferdinand University or in Latin Universitas Carolo-Ferdinandea . He took the subjects mathematics, physics and astronomy and was u. a. Student of Joseph Stepling , whose scientific knowledge inspired him. After Stepling's death in 1778, Strnad took on an extraordinary professorship for mathematics and physical geography . In 1781 he was appointed professor of practical astronomy, royal astronomer and director of the Clementinum observatory, which had been established in 1751 by Joseph Stepling. In this function he initiated the establishment of further meteorological measuring stations in Bohemia. In addition, Strnad also held the position of director of the Mathematical Museum of the Clementinum. In the academic year 1792 he was dean of the philosophical faculty and from 1795 rector of the university.

In the 1780s, Strnad made great contributions to the maintenance and repair of the astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall , which was to be dismantled because of its poor condition at the time and sold as scrap iron.

Strnad was involved in the establishment of the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences , which he chaired in the years 1787–1788. He was a member of the Mannheim Meteorological Society , which carried out weather observations worldwide and published the corresponding results.

From 1784 Strnad was married to Kateřina Marsanova, with whom he had four children.

In 1799 Strnad was invited by Prince Ferdinand Kinský to his castle in Sazená, where he was supposed to recover from a serious illness. There he died on September 23 of the same year and was buried in the cemetery of St. Clement's Church in Chržín .

Works

  • Weather observations for 1774. Prague 1775.
  • Meteorological observations for the year 1775. Prague 1776, 1777, 1779.
  • Extract from the meteorological observations made at the Prague observatory in 1782. Prague 1784.
  • Meteorological observations from the years 1783, 1784 together with a draft of the observed barometer movements from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. i. J. 1785. In: Treatises of the Bohemian Society of Sciences I. Prague 1785.
  • Draft of meteorological observations at the KK observatory in Prague in 1785.
  • Physical weather calendar for 1788. Prague 1788.
  • Description of the famous clocks and works of art at the old town hall and on the Königl. Prague observatory. Prague 1791 ( digitized version )
  • Consideration via the weather rod. In: Collection of physical essays, especially regarding Bohemian natural history , No. 3, 1793

literature

Web links