Gottfried Kirch

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Gottfried Kirch

Gottfried Kirch ( pseudonyms : Sibyll Ptolemain, Johann-Friedrich von Rosenfeld, Hipparchus) (born December 18, 1639 in Guben , Markgraftum Niederlausitz , † July 25, 1710 in Berlin ) was a schoolmaster, calendar maker and royal astronomer in Berlin.

life and work

Gottfried Kirch was born as the son of a shoemaker in Guben. First he was a schoolmaster in Langgrün and Neundorf near Lobenstein and later an astronomer in Coburg, Leipzig and Guben, and from 1700 in Berlin. He learned astronomy with Erhard Weigel in Jena and Johannes Hevelius in Danzig . From 1667 he published calendars and built telescopes. In 1679 he invented a screw micrometer for astronomical measurements.

In the last quarter of the 17th century Kirch was the most widely read calendar maker and was one of the leading German astronomers. He first discovered a comet by telescope in 1680 : Comet C / 1680 V1 . In 1681 he discovered the wild duck cluster , the open star cluster M 11 . In 1686 he moved to Leipzig . Together with the farmer and astronomer Christoph Arnold , he observed this year's comet. In the same year he found the Mira variable χ Cygni . He also devoted a lot of time to observing the double star Mira . He introduced three new constellations , the imperial orb , the electoral sword and the Sceptrum Brandenburgicum , which were later not accepted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). At Arnold's, he met his second wife Maria Margaretha Winkelmann , who had taught herself astronomical knowledge in self-study. During the joint observation of the comet of 1702, he discovered the spherical star cluster M 5 .

For a long time he could not find a job, so that he had to earn a living by publishing calendars . His second wife and his own children helped him with the calculations. Some calendar series appeared over several decades. At times he wrote up to 13 calendars per year, some of which appeared under pseudonyms and he also continued the calendar series introduced by other authors under their names. Examples are the Christian, Jewish and Turk calendars , the gypsy calendars of Sibylla Ptolemaein, a gypsy woman from Alexandria from Egypt , the astronomical miracle calendars , the True Heavenly Messengers , the ghost and household calendars from Johann Friedrich von Rosenfeld / Der Astronomiae Devoted and from 1700 the various academy calendars as a royal astronomer in Berlin.

It is only recently that the importance of Kirch's calendar stories for the dissemination of the ideas of the early enlightenment and pietism among large sections of the population has been recognized. The functions of the almanacs are in the areas of orientation, information, education and entertainment. Kirch's calendars are also characterized by the communication of their own astronomical observation results and those of others. Some calendars anticipate the astronomical yearbooks . Another aspect is the imparting of new knowledge to the common people in connection with an increasing distance from astrological superstition and a criticism of the prevailing prejudices. The additions included in all calendars / or astrological cover / of the running and working of the starry sky / ... (example from the Gypsy calendar) had been requested by the publishers, as the calendars would otherwise sell poorly. Astrological thinking had not yet been completely overcome, but it was directed against the practice of astrological divination and lying, which many calendar makers of his time had scourged as sin against God, especially with regard to the predictions of war and peace.

Since 1675 he pursued the idea of ​​founding an astronomical society in Germany . It should be open to all astronomers regardless of national or religious origin. He had in mind that all astronomers should send their observations to a central location, where they should then be printed as soon as possible. He considered Frankfurt am Main to be the ideal place, on the one hand because of the trade fair and on the other hand because of the connections to Holland via the Main and Rhine. This society should also serve to coordinate the observation of astronomical events such as eclipses and transits of planets in front of the sun. As an example, the transit of Mercury on October 31st or November 1st, 1690, which he organized like a general staff, should be mentioned. However, he does not seem to have taken any concrete steps to found the company.

In 1700 he became the first astronomer in Berlin on May 10, 1700 by Elector Friedrich III. (later King Friedrich I in Prussia) founded the Electoral Brandenburg Society of Sciences . The affiliated observatory was a response to the state observatories in Greenwich , Paris and St. Petersburg . In order to finance the academy, the elector had given it the “calendar patent” (a monopoly-like privilege to publish calendars). Kirch and his wife had to finance the academy with their calendar bills.

After his death, his wife continued to do the calendar calculations. The son Christfried Kirch was appointed director of the observatory at the Berlin Academy in 1716 . When calendars had to be calculated for Catholic Silesia after the First Silesian War , the academy employed his daughter Christine (1696–1782). Since 1700 there were two calendar versions in Germany: In the Catholic countries the Gregorian calendar was used , in the Protestant areas the Improved Imperial Calendar , which differed from the former only in the calculation of the Easter date .

The IAU honored him with the lunar crater Kirch and the asteroid (6841) Gottfriedkirch .

Publications

(Selection)

  • Miracle star on the whale's neck . Leipzig 1678
  • Urgent brief report to a good friend of the New Comet of the 1682nd year . 1682 ( digitized version )

Kirch also published in his calendars, the Philosophical Transactions , the Acta Eruditorum and the Miscellanea Berolinensia . The notes he left behind have not been published.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Kirch, Gottfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH December 18, 1639
PLACE OF BIRTH Guben , Markgraftum Niederlausitz
DATE OF DEATH July 25, 1710
Place of death Berlin