Christoph Eberhard

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Christoph Eberhard , pseudonym : Alethophilus (* 1675 ; † 1750 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German geographer and preacher .

Life

In 1711 Eberhard was General Staff Minister under General Adam Weide in the Russian army that had marched into the Principality of Moldova . But the Russians were defeated by the Ottomans .

In Halle he made the acquaintance of Christoph Semler . The high prize money for the solution of the length problem , which the British Parliament had announced in 1714, also prompted Semler to submit a proposal to the Board of Longitude . His method was to use magnetic inclination . Eberhard was supposed to present Semler's proposal in London, but as a precaution he did not reveal all the details. Eberhard submitted the method to Tsar Peter the Great in Amsterdam in 1717 and in London in 1718 to the Board. Isaac Newton did not comment and so the Board did not meet for discussion. One member, William Whiston , turned to Eberhard with the suggestion that the proceedings should be disclosed to him, since as an Englishman he was more likely to succeed. After a trial at sea, if successful, he wanted to share the reward with him. Whiston tested them on a sea voyage, but to no avail. It is not known whether it was submitted to the board again afterwards. According to Eberhard, the Semler method was published anonymously by an SBW under his name without his knowledge .

Then he stayed in Russia. The Danish King Friedrich IV appointed him vice-president of the (then Danish) Altona . Tsar Peter the Great called him back to Russia. He was supposed to build a ship in Kamchatka and examine the coast of Alaska . Peter's death in 1725 ended the venture and he returned to Halle.

Works

  • The internal and external condition of those Swedish prisoners in Russia, through their own letters, in which they were converted to their previous carnal security, and marvelous preservation, as well as the establishment of the public school at Tobolsky, the capital city of Siberia, along with many perseverance, and other things more, to report boldly, For the spreading of the wonderful ways of the Lord, and for general edification faithfully brought to light / By Alethophilo. ; Franckfurth and Leipzig: bookstore, 1718
  • Specimen Theoriae Magneticae, Quo ex certis Principiis Magneticis ostendibus vera et universalis Methodus inveniendi Longitudinem et Latitudinem: Confectum Londini A. 1718 ...; Attempt of a Magnetic Theory ... translated from Latin by SBW

literature

Web links


personal data
SURNAME Eberhard, Christoph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alethophilus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geographer and preacher
DATE OF BIRTH 1675
DATE OF DEATH 1750
Place of death Halle (Saale)