Robert Russell Newton
Robert Russell Newton or Robert R. Newton ( July 7, 1918 - June 2, 1991 ) was an American physicist and astronomer.
He was department head of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and became internationally known for his astronomical history book The crime of Claudius Ptolemy ("The crime of Claudius Ptolemy"), published in 1977. Newton saw in Claudius Ptolemy (around 100 to around 175) the "most successful deceiver in the history of science" . He accused him of having obtained the astronomical knowledge described in his main work - the " Almagest " - mainly through calculations, but not through observations.
The mistrust of Greek observations can be traced back at least to the 18th century, as expressed by Delambre , for example . However, Newton's escalation towards the assumption of a deliberate falsification goes beyond that and was not met with unanimous approval.
Robert R. Newton was an expert on changes in the rate of rotation of the earth and on historical astronomical observations. Since 1970 he had studied the changes in the movements of the earth and the moon more closely.
It was not least Newton's work that inspired Anatoly Fomenko to conduct research that is critical of chronology.
Works
- Periodic orbits of a planetoid passing close to two gravitating masses , in: Smithsonian Contribution to Astrophysics 3/1959
- Ancient astronomical observations and the accelerations of the earth and moon , Johns Hopkins University Press 1970
- Medieval chronicles and the rotation of the earth , Johns Hopkins University Press 1972
- Ancient planetary observations and the validity of ephemeris time , Johns Hopkins University Press 1976
- The crime of Claudius Ptolemy , Johns Hopkins University Press 1977
- The moon's acceleration and its physical origins , Johns Hopkins University Press 1979
Web links
- Publications by RR Newton in the Astrophysics Data System
- J. Evans: Essay Review: The Origins of Ptolemy's Astronomical Tables , by Robert R. Newton, in: Journal for the History of Astronomy, p.145, 05/1993, bibcode : 1993JHA .... 24..145E
- Hugh Thurston's easily understood 1998 condensation of R. Newton's much vindicated 1977 "Crime of Claudius Ptolemy" from: DIO 8.1, page 3-17 (PDF file; 135 kB)
- Jonsson on the discussion of Newton's theses
Individual evidence
- ^ Social Security Death Index . Retrieved February 6, 2011.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Newton, Robert Russell |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Newton, Robert R. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American physicist and astronomer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 7, 1918 |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 2, 1991 |