Matthew Beger

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Title page of the first library catalog of the Reutlingen City Library (around 1670)

Matthäus Beger (born March 18, 1588 in Reutlingen ; † June 30, 1661 ibid) was a cloth merchant , private scholar and long-time mayor of the Free Imperial City of Reutlingen.

Live and act

Matthäus Beger was born on March 18, 1588 in Reutlingen as the son of the cloth cutter Matthäus Beger and his wife Agnes born. Fi (t) zion was born. After attending school in Reutlingen, Beger trained as a cloth shearer in Ulm. As early as 1607 he married Barbara Geyler in Reutlingen and soon opened a cloth shop in this town. In addition to his training in Ulm , he dealt with mathematical studies, stimulated and supported by the local mathematician Johannes Faulhaber (1580–1635). He continued his scientific and mathematical studies in Reutlingen and was in close contact with the Tübingen mathematics and astronomy professor Michael Mästlin (1550–1631) and the scholar Matthias Bernegger (1582–1640) who worked in Strasbourg . The result of his many years of scientific studies, which were mainly self-taught, were numerous translations of mathematical and scientific works that he had in Latin or Italian. He provided these translations with his own comments and application examples. His work has come down to us in 30 handwritten volumes, which are in the historical holdings of the Reutlingen City Library. They were not printed.

From 1612 until the end of his life, Matthäus Beger held various municipal offices. They were in the area of ​​the city's military, finance and tax administration and required a great deal of prudence and skill from him in view of the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War . Between 1639 and 1657 he was elected mayor seven times.

He bequeathed his valuable private library of around 3,000 volumes to the city of Reutlingen, which at the end of his life, together with the holdings of some other smaller libraries, formed the basis of the city library that has existed since then.

In Reutlingen, a primary and technical secondary school was named after Matthäus Beger.

Literature sources

  • Gerhard Betsch: Southwest German Mathematici from the circle around Michael Mästlin. In: Irmgard Hantsche (Ed.): The "mathematicus". On the development and importance of a new professional group in the time of Gerhard Mercator. (= Duisburg Mercator Studies. Volume 4). Brockmeyer, Bochum 1996, ISBN 3-8196-0474-X , pp. 121-150.
  • Heinz Alfred Gemeinhardt: Matthäus Beger from Reutlingen. Imperial City Mayor, private scholar and library donor. In: Ulrich Gaier et al. (Ed.): Schwabenspiegel. Literature from the Neckar to Lake Constance 1000–1800. Volume 2, Oberschwäbische Elektrizitätswerke, Ulm 2003, ISBN 3-937184-01-5 , pp. 405-411.
  • Gerald Kronberger: The "Pax politica" of Matthäus Beger - a war chest takes stock. In: Reutlinger Geschichtsblätter. NF, Volume 33, 1994, pp. 39-87.
  • Philip Laubenberger: Christian funeral sermon outside of the 1st epist. to the Corinth. on the 13th Cap. About love, both against God and the neighbor ... at the crowded burial ... Matthaei Beegers ... BurgerMeisters ... to Reüttlingen, which June 30th ... different. Werlin, Tübingen 1661.
  • Johann-Jakob Sommer: Matthäus Beger. Mayor of Reutlingen 1588–1661. In: Reutlinger Geschichtsblätter. NF, Vol. 17, 1978, pp. 38-60.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ About the namesake of our school (accessed on September 15, 2019)
personal data
SURNAME Beger, Matthew
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cloth merchant, private scholar and mayor
DATE OF BIRTH March 18, 1588
PLACE OF BIRTH Reutlingen
DATE OF DEATH June 30, 1661
Place of death Reutlingen