Mathematician Project
10/18/14
Keelin Savage
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer. He is best known for his laws regarding planetary motion and for providing the first proof of how logorithms work. Kepler was born on December 27, 1571 in Weil der Stadt, a city now located in Germany. His father was a mercenary soldier, believed to have died in the Netherlands when Kepler was five, and his mother was the daughter of an innkeeper. He went to a seminary for secondary education, then attended the University of Tübingen. His family was originally Lutheran, but Kepler converted to Catholicism after he refused to adhere to some of the Lutheran positions.
In 1597, Kepler married Barbara Mϋller. In that same year, he published The Cosmographic Mystery, “in which he argued that the distances of the planets from the Sun in the Copernican system were determined by the five regular solids, if one supposed that a planet's orbit was circumscribed about one solid and inscribed in another.” (The Galileo Project) With the exception of Mercury, his theories proved to be exceptionally accurate.
Kepler became very successful in the mathematics field. He was first a mathematics teacher at a seminary in Graz, but was soon forced out of the city, for all Lutherans were told to either convert to Catholicism or leave the city. He then moved to Prague to work with the world-renowned danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Brahe was working for Emperor Rudolf II at the time and had the most accurate empiric data and precise measurements of any other known mathematician. After Brahe died in 1601, Kepler inherited his position as Imperial Mathematician in Prague. He occupied this position until 1612. During his time in this job, Kepler published several important books, the most important being Astronomia Nova (1609), which contained his first two laws of planetary motion, laws that describe the behaviors of the motion of planets. This book was fundamental to the change in the view of planetary studies, adding physics into a field of science and math that focused completely on kinematics, or the branch of science concerned with the motion of objects, but not the forces causing the motion.
In 1610, Kepler wrote a letter of support regarding Galileo’s discovery of the spyglass, which helped solidify Galileo’s previously weak claims. This led to Kepler publishing Narratio de Observatis Quatuor Jovis Satellitibus("Narration about Four Satellites of Jupiter observed") once he got his hands on a good telescope and could clearly observe the four satellite moons of Jupiter. During this period, Kepler and his wife had three children: Susanna (1602), who married Kepler's assistant Jakob Bartsch in 1630, Friedrich (1604-1611), and Ludwig (1607-1663). In 1612, Kepler’s wife passed. In that same year, Kepler moved to the city of Linz and accepted a job as the district mathematician, then met his next wife, Susanna Reuttinger. They had six children together, but three died early along.
In 1613, while living in Linz, Kepler first published a work on chronology regarding the birth of Christ called De Vero Anno quo Aeternus Dei Filius Humanam Naturam in Utero Benedictae Virginis Mariae Assumpsit (Concerning the True Year in which the Son of God assumed a Human Nature in the Uterus of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He proved that the Christian calendar was five years off, so Jesus was born in 4 A.D. His conclusion is now universally accepted to be true. Then, sometime between 1617 and 1621, Kepler published Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae ("Epitome of Copernican Astronomy"), which eventually became the most important and influential documents on heliocentric astronomy. Heliocentric theories use the idea that the solar system revolves around the sun, which is now commonly accepted. In 1619 he published Harmonice Mundi ("Harmony of the World"), “in which he derived the heliocentric distances of the planets and their periods from considerations of musical harmony. In this work we find his third law, relating the periods of the planets to their mean orbital radii.” (The Galileo Project)
During this time, there was a witch hunt in Kepler’s homeland, and his mother was accused of witchcraft. It took five years for proceedings against her to be finalized and for her to be set free.
In 1618, the Thirty Years War commenced, devastating the Austrian and German areas. Kepler started to lose grip on his position in Linz, after Counter Reformation laws declared all Protestants banned from the region. Riots and rebellions ensued, and Kepler’s most recent work was destroyed. He and his family decided to leave the city in 1626. Kepler returned to Prague to attempt to get money owed to him by the government, but to no avail. Kepler died in Regensburg in 1630.
Keelin Savage
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer. He is best known for his laws regarding planetary motion and for providing the first proof of how logorithms work. Kepler was born on December 27, 1571 in Weil der Stadt, a city now located in Germany. His father was a mercenary soldier, believed to have died in the Netherlands when Kepler was five, and his mother was the daughter of an innkeeper. He went to a seminary for secondary education, then attended the University of Tübingen. His family was originally Lutheran, but Kepler converted to Catholicism after he refused to adhere to some of the Lutheran positions.
In 1597, Kepler married Barbara Mϋller. In that same year, he published The Cosmographic Mystery, “in which he argued that the distances of the planets from the Sun in the Copernican system were determined by the five regular solids, if one supposed that a planet's orbit was circumscribed about one solid and inscribed in another.” (The Galileo Project) With the exception of Mercury, his theories proved to be exceptionally accurate.
Kepler became very successful in the mathematics field. He was first a mathematics teacher at a seminary in Graz, but was soon forced out of the city, for all Lutherans were told to either convert to Catholicism or leave the city. He then moved to Prague to work with the world-renowned danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe. Brahe was working for Emperor Rudolf II at the time and had the most accurate empiric data and precise measurements of any other known mathematician. After Brahe died in 1601, Kepler inherited his position as Imperial Mathematician in Prague. He occupied this position until 1612. During his time in this job, Kepler published several important books, the most important being Astronomia Nova (1609), which contained his first two laws of planetary motion, laws that describe the behaviors of the motion of planets. This book was fundamental to the change in the view of planetary studies, adding physics into a field of science and math that focused completely on kinematics, or the branch of science concerned with the motion of objects, but not the forces causing the motion.
In 1610, Kepler wrote a letter of support regarding Galileo’s discovery of the spyglass, which helped solidify Galileo’s previously weak claims. This led to Kepler publishing Narratio de Observatis Quatuor Jovis Satellitibus("Narration about Four Satellites of Jupiter observed") once he got his hands on a good telescope and could clearly observe the four satellite moons of Jupiter. During this period, Kepler and his wife had three children: Susanna (1602), who married Kepler's assistant Jakob Bartsch in 1630, Friedrich (1604-1611), and Ludwig (1607-1663). In 1612, Kepler’s wife passed. In that same year, Kepler moved to the city of Linz and accepted a job as the district mathematician, then met his next wife, Susanna Reuttinger. They had six children together, but three died early along.
In 1613, while living in Linz, Kepler first published a work on chronology regarding the birth of Christ called De Vero Anno quo Aeternus Dei Filius Humanam Naturam in Utero Benedictae Virginis Mariae Assumpsit (Concerning the True Year in which the Son of God assumed a Human Nature in the Uterus of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He proved that the Christian calendar was five years off, so Jesus was born in 4 A.D. His conclusion is now universally accepted to be true. Then, sometime between 1617 and 1621, Kepler published Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae ("Epitome of Copernican Astronomy"), which eventually became the most important and influential documents on heliocentric astronomy. Heliocentric theories use the idea that the solar system revolves around the sun, which is now commonly accepted. In 1619 he published Harmonice Mundi ("Harmony of the World"), “in which he derived the heliocentric distances of the planets and their periods from considerations of musical harmony. In this work we find his third law, relating the periods of the planets to their mean orbital radii.” (The Galileo Project)
During this time, there was a witch hunt in Kepler’s homeland, and his mother was accused of witchcraft. It took five years for proceedings against her to be finalized and for her to be set free.
In 1618, the Thirty Years War commenced, devastating the Austrian and German areas. Kepler started to lose grip on his position in Linz, after Counter Reformation laws declared all Protestants banned from the region. Riots and rebellions ensued, and Kepler’s most recent work was destroyed. He and his family decided to leave the city in 1626. Kepler returned to Prague to attempt to get money owed to him by the government, but to no avail. Kepler died in Regensburg in 1630.