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WESTFALL CATALOGUE - SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY Dr Robert A. Hatch - University of Florida Search - Name - Word - Category - Concept - Secondary Source - Author |
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Saccheri, Giovanni Girolamo 1. Dates: Born: San Remo, Genoa, 5 September 1667; Died: Milano, 25 October 1733. Datecode: Lifespan: 66. 2. Father: Law; Giovanni Felice Saccheri was a notary. No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Italian; Career: Italian; Death: Italian 4. Education: Religious Orders; D.D. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in Genoa in 1685. Sent to Milan in 1690, he studied philosophy and theology at the Jesuit College of Brera. Here he was influenced to study mathematics by Tommaso Ceva. As an ordained Jesuit professed of the fourth vow, he would have had a doctorate in theology. 5. Religion: Catholic. He entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1685, and was ordained a priest in 1694 at Como. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Mathematics; Subordinate Disciplines: Mechanics. His two most important books, the Logica demonstrativa (1697), an explanation of logic more geometrico, and the Euclides ab omni naevo vindicatus (1733), were virtually forgotten until they were rescued from oblivion-the Euclides by E. Beltrami in 1889 and the Logica by G. Vailati in 1903. Much of his logical and mathematical reasoning has become part of mathematical logic and non-Euclidean geometry. In 1708 he also published Neo-statica, a work in the tradition of peripatetic statics. 7. Means of Support: Academic; Church Living; 1685-1690, taught at the Jesuit college in Genoa. 1694-1697, taught philosophy at Turin. 1697-1733, taught philosophy and theology at the Jesuit College of Pavia. 1699-1733, taught philosophy, then occupied the chair of mathematics in the University of Pavia (also called the Università Ticinese) until his death. Saccheri was appointed to this chair by the Senate of Milan. 8. Patronage: Government Official; Aristocratic Patronage; City Magistrate; Court Patronage; Saccheri dedicated his first book, Quaesita geometrica to Guzman, the governor of Milan. He dedicated Logica demonstrativa, 1697, to Count Filippo Archintio, a Milanese senator. He dedicated Neo-statica, 1708, and Euclides vindicatus, 1733, to the Senate of Milan, which had called him to the university chair. Saccheri taught in Torino for three years and came to know Vittorio Amadeo II, Duke of Savoy, who called upon him many times for complicated calculations. Later, in 1713, the Duke tried to bring Saccheri back to Torino as a professor of mathematics. There is also a story that Vittorio Amadeo wanted to elevate Saccheri to a bishopric, but several sources deny the story, asserting that there is no evidence for it. Venice also tried to bring Saccheri to Padua, to the very chair that Galileo had once filled. In Milan Saccheri was welcomed into the Academia Claelia Vigilantium, organized by Countess Clelia Grillo-Borromeo, Gambarana mentions that during vacation periods at the university Saccheri spent his time in Milan with the Colleggio di Nobili. In 1716 he arranged a celebration plus the inevitable volume of sycophancy in celebration of the birth of Prince Leopold. 9. Technological Connections: Non 10. Scientific Societies: One of his teachers at the Jesuit College of Brera was T. Ceva. Under Ceva's influence he published his first book, Quaesita geometrica (1693). Through Ceva he became a correspondent and friend of Giovanni Ceva and Viviani. SOURCES:
Saint Vincent, Gregorius [Gregory
of Saint Vincent]
1. Dates: Born: Bruges, Belgium, 8 September 1584; Died: Ghent, 16 October 1667; Datecode: Lifespan: 83 2. Father: No Information. No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Belgian Area; Career: Belgian Area; It, Czechoslovak; Death: Belgian Area. 4. Education: University of Douai; Collegio Romano; Lou; D.D. He entered the Jesuit college of Bruges in 1595 and from 1601 studied philosophy and mathematics at Douai. After 1607, Clavius recognized his talents and arranged for him to remain in Rome to continue his studies in philosophy, mathematics, and theology. In 1612 he went to Louvain to complete his theological studies. There is no mention of any specific degrees, but he receive the equivalent of a B.A. in Jesuit institutions, and as an ordained Jesuit professed of the fourth vow, he would have had a doctorate in theology. 5. Religion: Catholic. In 1605 he became a Jesuit novice and was received into the order in 1607. In Louvain, six years later he was ordained a priest. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Mathematics; Subordinate Disciplines: Astronomy; Mechanics. As an established mathematician he presented a theory of conics from Commandino's editions of Archimedes (1558), Apollonius (1566), and Pappus (1588). He also developed a useful method of infinitesimals. His Theoramata mathemaica scientiae staticae, (Louvain, 1624), was defended by two of his students, Gualterus van Aebst and Johann Ciermans. Two other students, Guillaume Boelmans, and Ignaz Derkennis aided him in the preparation of his Problema Austricum on the quadrature of the circle. He requested permission from Mutius Vitelleschi, general of the order, to have his manuscript published in Rome. In 1625 he was called to Rome to modify the work upon Christoph Grienberger's (Clavius' successor) request. He returned two years later with no settlement of the issue. The following year he was called to Prague as the imperial confessor of Emperor Ferdinand II. He suffered a heart attack. Upon recovery he requested an assistant and received Theodor Moret. He continued his research until he fled to Vienna from the advancing Swedes. He left behind many of his papers, which he only received from a colleague ten years later. He published these papers as the Opus geometricum in Antwerp, 1647. When the controversy over the quadrature of the circle in the Opus subsided, he took up another classical problem, the duplication of the cube. He suffered a second heart attack in 1559 and died from a third attack in 1667. His work was completed by A.A. Sarosa. His last pupil, Joachim van Paepenbroek supervised the publication of Gregorius'treatise, Opus ad mesolabum. Among his earlier works are Theses cometis (1619) and Theses mechanicae (1620). 7. Means of Support: Church Living; Secondary Means of Support: Patronage; He was assigned to teach Greek for several years first at Brussels (1613), then Bois-le Duc (1614), and finally Coutrai (1615). From 1616-17 he was assigned as chaplain with the Spanish troops stationed at Belgium. He became the companion of Francois de Aguilon in the home of the Jesuits in Antwerp. He taught for three years at the Jesuit schoool becoming the successor to Aguilon. From 1621-5 he established himself as a mathematician at Louvain. (I find no indication that this means an academic appointment at the university.); He was the Emperor's chaplain from 1626-32. He became a mathematician at Ghent (in the Jesuit college) from 1632 until his death in 1667. He was a private tutor to members of the society while at Ghent. For part of the year in 1653 he was vice rector of the college. 8. Patronage: Scientist; Court Patronage; Clavius recognized his unique talents. (After some hesitation, I am listing this as patronage. I do not list the rest of the order's utilization of Gregory's talents.) 9. Technological Connections: None 10. Scientific Societies: In 1630 he was offered a position by the Madrid academy but because of his poor health he declined the offer. SOURCES:
Sala, Angelo [Angelus]
1. Dates: Born: Vicenza, c. 1576; Died: Bützow, Germany, 2 October 1637; Datecode: Birth Date Uncertain; Lifespan: 61 2. Father: Artisan; Bernhardino Sala was a spinner. No information on the family's financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Italian; Career: Sw, Germany; Dutch; Death: German 4. Education: None Known; Sala certainly did not attend a university. He is said to have learned chemistry in Venice. 5. Religion: Catholic. Calvinist; The whole family moved to Geneva in the late 16th century, converting to Calvinism. While nothing in the accounts excludes the possibility that the family was always Calvinist and moved for that reason, it seems highly unlikely. Dragendorff, writing within a partisan Lutheran context, concludes from exclusively circumstantial evidence, that Sala must have been a Lutheran at the time of his death, when he was in the service of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Güstow. I am not recording speculation of this sort. 6. Disciplines: Chemistry; Pharmacology; Iatrochemstry. Subordinate Disciplines: Medical Practioner; Sala began publishing on chemistry and medicines in about 1608-9. He published rather extensively in the genre, including a book of medications in 1624. Early he was influenced by Paracelsus and published in the Paracelsian tradition. Later Sala became skeptical of some the Paracelsus' theories, and in his later years he strove to amalgamate Paracelsianism with Galenic medicine. Sala's theories on chemical composition were historically important. In 1617 he published a book on the plague and how to cope with it. 7. Means of Support: Medicine; Patronage; Secondary Means of Support: Government Official; Schoolmaster; Sometime late in the 16th century Sala followed his grandfather to Geneva. 1602-12 were Sala's wanderjahren, through Switzerland and Germany. He served as physician to troops in Germany in 1610. Nothing indicates where he learned medicine. He settled in The Hague as a physician in 1612-17. During 1617-20 he was physician to Count Anton Günther of Oldenburg, and he supervised the pharmacies in the Count's territories. I am assuming that the supervision was a salaried governmental position. 1620-5, in Hamburg as 'chymiater,' which can only mean a Paracelsian physician. Sometime during his German experience, perhaps in these years, he supporoted himself in part by teaching medicine. In 1625 he became the personal physician to Johann Albrecht, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstow in Güstow, and then after 1636 as physician to Johann Albrecht's successor, Gustav Adolph in Bützow. Note that Sala, the uneducated son of a spinner, did well enough that his son, Kammerpräsident of Güstow sought ennoblement and his great grandson was named a Count of the Empire in the 18th century. 8. Patronage: Aristocratic Patronage; Court Patronage; Sala was physician to Count Anton Günther of Oldenbuurg, to whom he dedicated Aphorismen, 1619. He spent the last twelve years of his life in the service of the Dukes of Mechlenburg-Güstow. 9. Technological Connections: Medicine; Pharmacology; 10. Scientific Societies: SOURCES:
Not Available and Not Consulted: Georg
Friedrich August Blanck,
Angelus Sala, sein Leben und seine Werke,
(Schwerin, 1883). This book, which the DSB touts as the only reliable source
on Sala, does not appear to exist in the United States. Biographical sketch
in G.F.A. Blanck,
Die mechlenburgischen Ärtze von den Ältesten
Zeiten bis zur Gegenwart, (Schwerin 1929), p. 83. Robert Capobus, Angelus
Sala, (Berlin, 1933). A. Cossa,
Angelo Sala, medico e chimico vicentino
del secolo XVII, (Vicenza, 1894).
Sallo, Denys [Denis] de
1. Dates: Born: Paris, 1626; Died: Paris, 14 May 1669; Datecode: Lifespan: 43 2. Father: Aristocrat; Government Official; His father, Jacques de Sallo, was a conseiller of the grand-chambre of the Parlement of Paris; his mother was the daughter of another conseiller of the Parlement. His family was from Poitou and descended from an ancient line of nobility of the sword. The family lived in a large house in Paris, inherited from highly placed forebears. De Sallo's brother, a cleric, held two important and wealthy benefices. De Sallo inherited the title of sieur de la Coudraye de Lucon, an estate on considerable value. In a word, the family was wealthy. 3. Nationality: Birth: French; Career: French; Death: French 4. Education: University of Paris; LD; He was educated at the Collège des Grassius. After studying philosophy he took up Greek and Latin, winning awards in his studies. After his classical studies he took a law degree. I assume either a B.A. or its equivalent. 5. Religion: Catholic. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Scientific Communication. He was the founder of the first scholarly periodical, Journal des scavans. Thirteen weekly issues were published under his editorship in 1665. The Journal responded to several aspects of contemporary life. New facts, theories, and techniques posed issues that changed the basis of the thought of scientists, historians, philosophers, and others. The journal was a record of new books, a readable and critical account of current writings, and a marketable production. In its first three months some eighty publications were discussed. The journal was international from the outset: about half the books reviewed were published in Paris, while the rest came from London, Amsterdam, Rome, and other French and German cities. A quarter of the space was devoted to scientific material. In addition there were reports of current scientific and technological developments: William Petty's double-hulled vessel and Robert Holme's use of Huygens' clocks on the Atlantic voyages. The most important scientific article offered an account of a learned conference on comets held at the college of the Jesuits. The first three months of the journal's existence were rather stormy. Sallo managed to make enemies in the Faculty of Medicine, in literary circles, and among the Jesuits. The following nine month interruption has been explained by Sallo's critical ultramontanism, his mistake in criticizing people unaccustomed to being criticized, and his failure to submit pages for official approval. The Journal was suppressed in 1665, and when publication resumed in 1666 it was under a different editor. 7. Means of Support: Government Official; Pers; Details of his life are extremely scarce. He was admitted to the Paris bar in 1652, and won respect for his solid judgement. He succeeded his father in the Parlement in 1653. In 1657 he was in Frankfurt for the preliminaries to the election of a successor to Ferdinand III. In a report to Colbert in 1663 about the members of various parlements, de Sallo was described as a man interested only in his studies and not in the position, which he wanted to exchange for another less demanding. Add to this the facts that he married the daughter of another member of the Parlement, and that he assembled two considerable libraries, one in Paris and one in his country estate in Poitou. Obviously he had personal means. 8. Patronage: Patronage of Government Official; He was granted a privilege for the printing of the Journal des Scavans for 20 years on 8 August 1664. In December the privilege was ceded to Jean Cusson, although Sallo edited the first issues that appeared in 1665. Colbert was his patron protecting him during the difficult times. Sallo may have been among the group of savants established by Colbert that preceded the Académie. 9. Technological Connections: Non; De Sallo undertook to drain the marshes of lower Poitou; the enterprise failed he absorbed a good part of his fortune. There is no suggestion, however, that he supplied any of the technical know-how. 10. Scientific Societies: Even before publication started, the journal had been actively promoted by J. Chapelain, poet, critic, and correspondent of many French and foreign scholars; by Henri Justel, acquainted with innumerable travelers and men of letters; and by Emeric Bigot, well-known in foreign learning centers. Oldenburg and Huygens promised their assistance, which is apparent in the early issues. SOURCES:
Salviani, Ippolito
1. Dates: Born: Citta di Castello, Umbia, (if it matters, Marini ways Rome) 1514; Died: Rome, 1572; Datecode: Lifespan: 58 2. Father: Aristocrat; I found only the statement that he came from a patrician family. No information of the family's financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Italian; Career: Italian; Death: Italian 4. Education: Unknown; M.D. He studied medicine. There is no information on the university (Hoefer saying that Salviani was at the universities of his country), and no mention of a degree. Nevertheless, given the rest of Salviani's career, it is impossible to believe that he did not have an M.D., and I assume the equivalent of a B.A. 5. Religion: Catholic. Salviani was physician to three Popes. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Medicine; Zoology; He published one medical work, De crisibus ad Galeni censuram (1556). He is better known for his monumental work on ichthyology, Aquatilium animalium historiae, published some time between 1554 and 1558. It describes the fish of the Mediterranean. 7. Means of Support: Patronage; Academic; Medical Practioner; Secondary Means of Support: Government Official; He was personal physician to Julius III, Paul IV, and Cardinal Cervini, who was Pope Marcellus II for a month before he died. Salviani also had many rich clients and became very wealthy. From 1551 until at least 1568 he was professor of practical medicine at the Sapienza. In 1565 he was made principal physician of the medical college of Rome. In 1564 Salviani was named conservatore (registrar) of Rome, an administrative position concerned with the preservation of antiquities. 8. Patronage: Patronage of an Ecclesiatic Official; Salviani's most important patron was Cardinal Cervini, who became Pope Marcellus II but died only a month later. Cervini encouraged and supported Salviani's book on fish, and to him it would have been dedicated had he not died. It was dedicated instead to Pope Paul IV. He was personal physician to Cardinal Cervini and to Popes Julius III and Paul IV. The Vatican gave him many honors: in 1564 the Cardinal in charge sent him to supervise the degree sessions in medicine; he was made principal physician of the medical college of Rome. 9. Technological Connections: Medicine; 10. Scientific Societies: Medical College (Any One); SOURCES:
Not Available and Not Consulted: DSB lists
also G. Tiraboschi,
Biblioteca modenese, (Modena, 1781-6), 7,
pat. 2, ll9. Something is wrong: the work is only six volumes long, and
I have not been able to find a biography of Salviani at its logical place
among the S's.
Sanchez [Sanches], Francisco
1. Dates: Born: Braga, Portugal, 1551 Cobos says Tuy, Spain (on the Portuguese border), 1550. Died: Toulouse, France, November 1623; Datecode: Birth Date Uncertain; Lifespan: 72 2. Father: No Information. No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Portuguese; Career: French; Death: French 4. Education: University of Sapienza (Rome); University of Montpellier; M.D. After studies at the Collège de Guyenne (which I take to be secondary), he went to Rome to the Sapienza. Rabade says he earned the title of Doctor in Rome. Doctor of what? The implication is philosophy. Cavalho, without mentioning a doctorate, says he continued in Arts (i.e, philosophy) in Rome. Cobos implies that it was a medical degree. He went on to earn an M.D. in Montpellier in 1574. 5. Religion: Jew, Catholic. It seems clear that Sanchez was of Jewish descent. He adhered to Catholicism. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Natural philosophy, medicine. Subordinate Disciplines: mathematics; Sanchez wrote anatomical works and was a careful clinical observer. His Quod nihil scitur, 1581, was a rigorous skeptical attack on Aristotelian science. Only particulars can be known, but the senses also are imperfect. He questioned Clavius on mathematics, in print. 7. Means of Support: Medical practice. Secondary Means of Support: academic position; Sanchez established himself in Toulouse in 1575. The practice of medicine was his lifetime occupation and his principal source of income. He was Director of the Hospital of St. Jacques from 1581. He also held a number of academic appointments in Toulouse: Prof. of philosophy, 1585 - Prof. of medicine, 1612 - . He was also at some time Rector of the university. 8. Patronage: Medicine; Unknown. He dedicated Quod nihil scitur to Diogo [Jacobus] de Castro, who appears to have been one of the famous medical de Castros. Someone was behind those appointments in Toulouse. 9. Technological Connections: Medical practice 10. Scientific Societies: SOURCES:
Not Available and Not Consulted: Joao Cruz
Costa, Ensaio sobra a vida e obra do Sanchez, (Sao Paulo, 1942).
J. Iriarte, 'F. Sanchez,'
Razon y Fe, 110 (1936), 23-42,
157-8. Evarista do Maraes Filho, Francisco Sanchez na renaissancePortugal,
(Rio, 1953). A. Moreira da Sa,
Francisco Sanchez, Philosopher e mathematician,
2 vols. (Lisbon, 1947). C. Mellizo, Nueva introduccion a Francisco Sanchez,
(Zamora, 1982).
Santorio, Santorio
1. Dates: Born: Capodistria [Justinopolis], now Koper, Jugoslavia, 29 March 1561; Died: Venice, 6 March 1636; Datecode: Lifespan: 75 2. Father: Aristocrat; Government Position; His father, Antonio Santorio, was a nobleman and a high official of the Venetian Republic, who was sent to Capodistria as an official (Bombardier and Chief Steward of Munitions). Santorio's mother was Elisabetta Cordona, the heiress of a local noble family. Although everything is suggestive enough, there was in fact no mention at all of the family's financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Italian; Career: Italian; Death: Italian 4. Education: University of Padua; M.D. He was educated at Capodistria and Venice, where he shared the same tutors as the patrician Morosini's sons. He received a thorough knowledge of classical languages and literature. In 1575 he enrolled in the University of Padua, where he studied philosophy and medicine and obtained his doctor's degree in 1582. As usual I assume the equivalent of a B.A. 5. Religion: Catholic. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Medicine; Instruments; His great achievement was the introduction of quantitative experimentation into biological science. In his Methodus vitandorum errorum (1602), a comprehensive study on the method of healing, he mentioned a few measuring instruments. His Commentaria in artem medicinalem Galeni (1612) contains the first printed mention of the air thermometer. The De statica medicina (1614) briefly describes the results of a long series of experiments that he conducted with a scale and other measuring instruments and argues a theory about insensible perspiration. Santorio also invented surgical instruments and what he called a pulsilogium. Beyond medicine he invented a wind gauge and a device to measure the force of water currents. 7. Means of Support: Patronage; Academic; Medical Practioner; Secondary Means of Support: Government Position; Both Caparroni and Castiglioni say that immediately after completing his medical degree Santorio went to Poland as the personal physician to the King and the upper aristocracy. It is now generally agreed that this could not be correct, and that rather he was in Croatia between 1587 and 1599 at the invitation of a leading nobleman, probably Count Zrinski. Then, after 1599, he practised medicine in Venice. In 1607, together with Fabrizio, he treated and cured Sarpi after the attempted assasination. 1611-24, professor of theoretical medicine at the University of Padua, initially with a salary of 800 ducats, which was later raised to 1500. (I wonder if the sources are not in error on the unit; Padua stated salaries in florins.) When he retired in 1624 the Venetian Senate continued both his salary and his title until his death. While teaching in Padua, Santorio carried on a busy practice with the Venetian aristocracy, and he resigned the university chair in order to devote himself wholly to the practice. He put together a large fortune. In 1630 the Venetian government put him in charge of dealing with the plague. 8. Patronage: Aristocratic Patronage; Court Patronage; He owed his professorship partly to the support of his friends in the upper Venetian nobility. He dedicated Commentaria in artem medicinalem Galeni to Andrea Morosini. Originally he was supposed to have held the chair for six years; but at the end of that period, in 1617, the Venetian Senate extended his contract for six more years and granted him an exceptionally high salary. When he retired, the Senate awarded him both the continuation of his salary and the permanent title of professor. He dedicated Methodus vitandorum errorum to Ferdinand of Austria. 9. Technological Connections: Medicine; Instruments; He was the first to add a scale to the thermoscope, thereby transforming it into the thermometer. He also invented a hygrometer, a pendulum for measuring the pulse rate, a special syringe for extracting bladder stones, and a bathing bed. Beyond medicine he invented a wind gauge and a device to measure the force of water currents. 10. Scientific Societies: Medical College (Any One); In Morosini's home, a meeting place for the proponents of the new science, he met Galileo and became friendly with Paolo Sarpi, Girolamo Fabrici, Giambattista Della Porta, and Francesco Sagredo, among others. He was a member of the Palladium Academy of Capodistria. He was President of the Venetian College of Physicians. SOURCES:
Not Available and/or Not Consulted: A.
Capello, De vita cl. viri Sanctorii Sanctorii, (Venice, 1750). M.
Del Gaizo, Ricerche storiche intorno a Santorio Santorio ed alla medicina
statica, (Naples, 1889). P. Stancovich, Biografie degli uomini illustri
dell'Istria, (Trieste, 1829), 2. Lietta Ettari and Mario Procopio,
Santorio
Santorio: la vita e le opere, (Rome, 1968). (Part of the
Quaderni
della nutrizioni.) Paolo Farina, 'Sulla formazione scientifica di Henricus
Regius: Santorio Santorio e il De statica medica,' Rivista critica
de storia della filosofia, 30 (1975), 363-99.
Sarpi, Paolo
1. Dates: Born: Venice, 14 August 1552; Died: Venice, 16 January 1623; Datecode: Lifespan: 71 2. Father: Merchant; Francesco Sarpi was a small merchant who was a failure. The financial straits of the family, after the death of Sarpi's father, shifted the responsibility for his education to his uncle, Ambrogio Morelli, the head titular priest of San Marcuola in Venice. It is clear that the family was poor. 3. Nationality: Birth: Italian; Career: Italian; Death: Italian 4. Education: University of Padua; D.D. He studied philosophy, theology and logic under the Servite friar Giammria Capella, and entered into the Servite Order at the age of fourteen. By 1574 he had become a bachelor in theology, and in 1578 was awarded the degree of doctor of theology by the University of Padua. 5. Religion: Catholic. He entered into the Servite Order in 1556. In 1579 he was elected provincial of his order. He was appointed state theologian by the Venetian Senate in 1606 and counseled defiance of the bull of interdict and excommunication launched against Venice by Paul V. Having failed to appear before the Roman Inquisition to answer charges of heresy, he was excommunicated in January 1607, and in October 1607 he was the object of an attempted assassination, which he accused the Roman Curia of engineering. Sarpi was the subject of frequent charges of heterodoxy. He was accused before the Inquisition no less than three times-in c. 1575 for questioning the Trinity, again in 1594, and then in 1607. After a long discussion Getto concludes that Sarpi was never a man of inner religious experience, and that he was always indifferent to issues of dogma. Hence he appeared to many to be moving away from the Catholic Church, and his constant contacts with Protestants did nothing to lessen that appearance. Some judged him to be a closet Protestant, and some judged him to be a Deist. Getto thinks this is quite wrong. Sarpi was not a man of action and not a reformer. Though critical of many aspects of Catholicism, he remained a Catholic, and not merely in appearance. On the other hand, the entire argument of Wootton's book is to argue that Sarpi was at best an agnostic and what he calls a moral atheist (one who rejects a God with providence). I have decided to accept Getto's position. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Anatomy; Chemistry; Subordinate Disciplines: Mathematics; Mechanics; Magnetism; He is chiefly remembered for his highly biased Istoria del Concilio Tridentino (1619). His Arte di ben pensare has been credited with anticipating Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding. His letters and the notebooks, which touch upon every aspect of contemporary science, contain his original philosophical, physical, and mathematical thought. He devoted himself to anatomy from 1582 to 1585, and has been credited with correctly interpreting the function of venous valves and the discovery of the circulation of blood (though this is clearly very excessive). During this time he also carried out extensive chemical experimentation. He followed magnetism. For all that, science was never Sarpi's central concern. He was a critical spirit, primarily a student of human affairs who became caught up in Venice's struggle with the Papacy. It was hard to know what to list, and I ended up listing all of the fields in which he manifested interest at one time or another. However, one should not be misled into thinking him an important scientist. 7. Means of Support: Church Living; Government Official; Secondary Means of Support: Patronage; In 1570 he was appointed court theologian and professor of positive theology by the Duke of Mantua. He was there until 1574. In 1574-5 he was at Milan in the service of Bishop Carlo Borromeo. He soon returned to Venice where he taught philosophy; I assume that this was within the Servite order. In 1578 he was named head of his monastery in Venice. In 1579 he was elected provincial of his order for the province of Venice. From 1585 to 1588, he was procurator general in Rome, the second highest position in the order. While in Rome he attracted the attention and favor of Gregory XIII. Back in Venice, Sarpi lived quietly in study in his monastery. In 1606 he was appointed state theologian and canon lawyer of Venice. This position carried a salary, and though the appointment undoubtedly came through the channels of patronage, it was a governmental position. In 1606 he also became adviser to the Venetian Senate, an office he held (with that of state theologian) until his death. 8. Patronage: Aristocratic Patronage; City Magistrate; Court Patronage; The Duke of Mantua appointed him court theologian and professor of positive theology in 1570. The Venetian Senate appointed him state theologian and adviser to the Senate in 1606. I have not found any information that fully clarifies Sarpi's position with the Venetian patriciate. Obviously some of them appointed him to his official positions. Sarpi does not appear to have lived high; on the contrary he was very severe. I tend to think, from the lack of references, that he did not receive other monetary patronage from the patricians. In 1601 the Senate tried to obtain a bishopric for him. He became a major figure in Venice whose influence was felt in appointments in Padua. James I of England offered Sarpi refuge and favor in England, and James was responsible for the publication of the History of the Council of Trent, which appeared originally in England in 1619. 9. Technological Connections: Medicine; Pharmacology; There is evidence that Venetian patricians consulted Sarpi on matters medical, and that Sarpi was learned in medicines. 10. Scientific Societies: In Padua he regularly attended colloquia sponsored by Giovanni Vincenzio Pinelli, He arbitrated the dispute between Galilleo and B. Capra, who had claimed the invention of the proportional compass as his own. In 1609 he recommended that the Venetian Senate refuse the offer to purchase one of the earliest telescopes, confident that his fried Galileo could construct an instrument of comparable if not superior quality. This Galileo did, and presented to the government as a gift in August 1609; in return he (Galileo) received a lifetime appointment to the University of Padua. SOURCES:
Not Available and/or Not Consulted: A.G.
Campbell, The Life of Fra Paolo Sarpi, (London, 1869). A.Robertson,
Fra
Paolo Sarpi the Greatest of the Venetians, (London, 1894). G. Abetti,
Amici
e nemici de Galileo, (Milan, 1945). Giovan Battista De Toni, 'Fra Paolo
Sarpi nelle scienze esatte e naturali,' in Paolo Sarpi e i suoi tempi
(L'Ateneo Veneto nel III centenario della morte di fra Paolo Sarpi),
(Città di Castello, 1923).
Saurin, Joseph
1. Dates: Born: Courthezon, Vaucluse, 1 September 1659; Died: Paris, 29 December 1737; Datecode: Lifespan: 78. 2. Father: Church Living; His father was a Calvinist minister of Grenoble. No information on financial status 3. Nationality: Birth: French; Career: France; Swiss; Death: French 4. Education: None Known; He was educated at home. After embracing Catholicism he started a new career in mathematics. He studied mathematics, but dthere is no mention of any formal university training. Among his friends were Varignon, l'Hopital, and Malebranche. 5. Religion: Calvinist; Catholic. (after 1690); He entered the Calvinist ministry in 1684 as curate of Eure. Outspoken in the pulpit, he soon had to take refuge in Switzerland. No less combative in exile, he refused at first to sign the Consensus of Geneva (1685). The pressure brought on him as a result apparently weakened his Calvinist persuasion. In 1690 he embraced Roman Catholicism. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Mathematics; Mechanics. He made no original contribution to mathematics. Firmly committed to the new infinitesimal calculus, he explored the limits and possibilities of its methods and defended it against criticism based on lack of understanding. In 1702 he was involved in a dispute with Rolle over the calculus. He provided neat algebraic demonstrations of Huygens's theorem on centrifugal force, and defended Huygens's theory of the pendulum. Many of his works appeared in the Mémoires of the Académie from 1707-31. 7. Means of Support: Schoolmaster; Government Official; Patronage; Secondary Means of Support: Church Living; He became curate (Calvinist) of Eure in 1684, and soon took refuge in Switzerland, where he was pastor of Bercher, Yverdon. In 1690 he settled in Paris, where he studied and then taught mathematics, and was mathematical editor for the Journal des scavans. In 1707 he became pensionnaire géometre of the Académie des sciences. 8. Patronage: Ecclesiastic Official; Court Patronage. Bishop Bossuet of Meaux aided Saurin in his decision to convert. He presented Saurin to the King who provided Saurin with a pension. 9. Technological Connections: None. 10. Scientific Societies: Académie royale des sciences (Paris); 1707; By 1702, as a mathematical editor for the Journal des scavans, he was involved in disputes, most notably with Rolle, over infinitesimal calculus. Failing to get a satisfactory response from Rolle, he appealed to the Academy, of which Rolle was a member. The Academy avoided a direct decision in favor of an outsider by naming him an élève géometre in March 1707 and a full pensionnaire géometre in May 1707. SOURCES:
Sauveur, Joseph
1. Dates: Born: La Fleche, 24 March 1653; Died: Paris, 9 July 1716; Datecode: Lifespan: 63 2. Father: Law; His father was a notary. No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: French; Career: French; Death: French. 4. Education: University of Paris; He was mute until the age of seven and then only slowly developed control over his speaking. He first attended the Jesuit school of La Fleche, where arithmetic intrigued him. In 1670 he went to Paris, where he studied mathematics and medicine, and attended the physical lectures of Jacques Rohault. His uncle, a canon of Tournus, agreed to provide a pension for Sauveur to study theology and philosophy. As soon as Sauveur's interests turned away from the ecclesiastical path the pension was withdrawn. Apparently he did not earn a B.A. 5. Religion: Catholic. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Physics; Mus; He was influential as a teacher of practical mathematics. He prepared tables for simple calculations and converting weights and measures. In 1681, he conducted hydrological experiments with Mariotte at Chantilly. While gathering information to write about fortifications, he joined practice with theory at Mons during the seige in 1691. At the request of the Marquis de Dangeau he undertook the investigation of winning at Bassette, a game of chance. He presented his results at court and published them in the Journal des Scavans. He introduced the current meaning of the term acoustics in his report to the Académie in 1700. His first work on the physics of vibration, presented to the Paris Academy in 1700, concerned the determination of absolute frequency. Later, in the work presented in 1713, he derived the frequency of a string theoretically. Among his interests, the subject of harmonics proved the most important for later developments--in mathematics, physics, and music. Through him and the Academy the ideas about harmonics became well known in the early eighteenth century. Among his works on acoustics are Determination d'un son fixe (1702) and Application des sons harmonique (1707). 7. Means of Support: Schoolmaster; Academic; Government Position; Secondary Means of Support: Patronage; After losing his pension (from his uncle), he started teaching mathematics and by 1680 he was a well-known teacher and a tutor at the court of Louis XIV. In 1686 he obtained the chair of mathematics at the Collège Royal. In 1696 he became a member of the Academy of Sciences. In 1703 he became examiner for the Engineering Corps. 8. Patronage: Court Patronage; Scientist; Aristocratic Patronage; He was a tutor at the court of Louis XIV. Vauban, marshall of France, proposed Sauveur for examiner of the Corps of Engineers. The King agreed and honored Sauveur with a pension. I assume that something I call patronage was involved in his investigation of games of chance for the Marquis de Dangeau. 9. Technological Connections: Mathematics; Military Engineer; In 1691 he joined the practice and theory of fortifications during the seige of Mons. I list his work on practical computations here. 10. Scientific Societies: Académie royale des sciences (Paris); 1696-1716 SOURCES:
Scaliger [Bordon, Bordonius],
Julius Caesar
1. Dates: Born: Padua, 23 August 1484; Died: Agen, France, 21 October 1558; Datecode: Lifespan: 74. 2. Father: Artisan; Sci; Scaliger claimed noble descent from the great Veronese family, della Scala. There is no concrete evidence of this other than Scaliger's and his son's claim, and there is great evidence against it. I think that no one continues to believe this claim. Scaliger's father, Benedetto Bordon, was an expert miniaturist and illuminator of manuscripts and books, and a graphic artist. He was also an astronomer, geographer, and cartographer. No secure information on financial status, though there are certainly hints that it was modest. The University of Padua excused Scaliger from the fees when he took his degree, something done only for poor students. Before his stint in the university Scaliger apparently followed a military career for about six years, clearly in order to support himself. 3. Nationality: Birth: Italian; Career: Italy; France; (1528, naturalized citizen) Death: France. 4. Education: University of Padua; Ph.D. In 1519 he received his doctorate of arts at Padua. There is no proof that he received a medical degree, though he may have. There is a question as to whether he attended the University of Bologna or the University of Padua. I have been impressed by the evidence that it was Padua and only Padua. I assume a B.A. 5. Religion: Catholic. He may have briefly entered a Franciscan convent in Venice around 1505. In 1538, he was summoned before the Inquisition as a Huguenot sympathizer and later acquitted. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Natural Philosophy; Medicine; Botany. Nostradamus and Rabelais were attracted to Agen to study with Scaliger. Rabelais left in 1530 to study under physicians who, unlike Scaliger, continued to follow the ancient and medieval doctrines. He presented editions of three ancient treatises in which he tried to effect a new and more consistent classification of plants. He felt it was necessary to submit everything to examination and not to embrace ancient authorities with 'servile adulation'. During his tour in the army he studied medicine and collected medicinal herbs in Northern Italy. He first established his fame by a savage attack on Erasmus (Paris, 1531). He confirmed his fame with a critique of Cardano expressed in his Exotericarum exercitationem (1557), which won him the admiration of Bacon and Leibniz. [Work on Manilius]. 7. Means of Support: Medicine; Patronage. Secondary Means of Support: Personal Means; Military. Apparently Scaliger was a soldier between roughly 1509 and 1515. In 1520, after he completed his degree, the University of Padua offer Scaliger a position, which he refused. He arrived at Agen as personal physician to Bishop Antonio della Rovere in 1524. At Agen he became a well-known and respected physician. He served as consul of Agen in 1532-3. Even after his duties as consul were over, Scaliger petitioned the Consuls of Agen to keep his tax exempt status in return for free medical services during time of plague, for the poor, and for lepers. Also, in return for his tax exempt status he promised to charge fees set by the consuls' ordinnances. Let it be added that Scaliger nevertheless earned enough to die wealthy. In Agen he married a young woman with a modest estate which Scaliger enjoyed. From 1548-9 he was the physician to the King of Navarre. 8. Patronage: Ecclesiastic Official; Court Patronage; About 1515 SCaliger composed a poem, 'Elysium,' dedicated to Alfonso and Isabella d'Este, but the outcome seems to indicate that he failed to gain the patronage he was manifestly seeking. He was the personal physician to Bishop Antonio della Rovere, having established himself in the favor of the family in Piedmont. He was the personal physician to the King of Navarre. In the sources I have consulted there has not been any information about dedications of his publications. I find it impossible to believe that Scaliger did not attempt to extract every possible ounce of advantage from dedications. 9. Technological Connections: Medicine; Pharmacology. 10. Scientific Societies: SOURCES:
Not Available and/or Not Consulted: Joseph
Justus Scaliger, Epistolae, (Leiden, 1627). Joseph Justus Scaliger,
following his father's charade, gave the Della Scala myth its enduring
statement in a published letter, which is available in quite a few sources.
Adolphe Magen, ed., 'Documents sur Jules-César Scaliger et sa famille,'
Recueil
des travaux. Société d'agriculture, sciences et arts d'Agen,
2nd ser.,
3, 161-276.
Schegk [Schegkius, Scheggius,
Degen], Jakob [Jacobus]
1. Dates: Born: Schorndorf, 7 June 1511; Died: Tübingen, 9 May 1587 Datecode: - Lifespan: 76. 2. Father: Unknown; He was the son of a well-to-do burgher, Bernard Degen. I accept the statement-prosperous at least. 3. Nationality: German; German; Germany; Birth: Schorndorf, Germany. Career: Tübingen, Germany. Death: Tübingen, Germany. 4. Education: University of Tübingen; M.A., M.D. Taught Latin as a boy by Johann Thomas, a student of Johann Reuchlin's. 1527, he entered the University of Tübingen to study philosophy. He received his B.A. in 1528, and his M.A. in 1530. He also studied theology and medicine, receiving an M.D in 1539. 5. Religion: Catholic. Lutheran. Reared as a Catholic, Schegk accepted without protest the conversion of Tübingen to Lutheranism. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Scholastic Philosophy; Subordinate Disciplines: Medical Practioner; Schegk's first publication was a general compendium of Aristotelian physics. This set the tone of his life's work as a devoted Aristotelian, who became known as the leading Aristotelian in Germany. Strictly speaking, he does not appear to have been a Scholastic, but that seems the only suitable category. He also published some on medicine. 7. Means of Support: Academic. 1531-77, taught philosophy, logic, and medicine at the University of Tübingen, at some point becoming professor of medicine and aristotelian philosophy. He was rector of the university six times. Schegk became blind in 1577, and in that year resigned his position, though he did not cease to publish. 8. Patronage: Court Patronage; Aristocratic Patronage; Government Official; Patronage of an Ecclesiatic Official; Schegk had numerous connections with the court of Württemberg, which I assume was behind the academic appointment. He dedicated three books (including De demonstratione, 1564) to Duke Christoph and another (Organi Aristotelei pars prima, 1577) to Duke Ludwig. One of those two requested Schegk's opinion on a theological dispute concerning the communion and had his exposition published. Later there was another theological dispute in which he engaged upon the specific request of the Duke. He dedicated Anti Simonius, 1573, to Count Philipp Ludwig von Hanau und Rheineck, Schegk's student. And he dedicated Commentaria in libros topicorum, 1584-5, to Andreas Dudith, Herr von Horehuviz. He dedicated Epicteti dissert., 1554, to the Imperial Counsellor Sigmar von Schlusslberg. What I do not entirely understand, he (a Lutheran) dedicated De principatu animae, 1543, to Abbot Johann Scultetus. There were other dedications-to the Jurist Johann Sichard, and to the Rector and Senate of Tübingen. I do find it interesting that in 1540 Schegk was offered an appointment at the University of Leipzig; when he chose to stay in Tübingen, his salary nearly trebled. He then dedicated a commentary on Aristotle, 1544, to the Senate of the University of Leipzig. In the late 40's the University of Strassburg offered him another position which he also declined, but he dedicated yet another commentary on Aristotle, 1550, to the Council of the city of Strassburg. 9. Technological Connections: None Known; I found no evidence that he practiced medicine. 10. Scientific Societies: None; Schegk engaged in a dispute with Ramus that ended only with Ramus' death. SOURCES:
Scheiner, Christoph
1. Dates: Born: Wald, Swabia, 25 July 1573; Died: Neisse, Silesia, 18 June 1650 Datecode: Lifespan: 77. 2. Father: No Information. No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Germany; Germany; & Italy; German; Birth: Wald (near Mindelheim), Swabia, Germany; Career: Germany and Italy; Death: Neisse, Silesia 4. Education: University of Ingolstadt; M.A., D.D. Attended a Jesuit Latin school at Augsburg. Attended a Jesuit college at Landsberg. 1600, after joining Jesuit order, he was sent to Ingolstadt, where he studied philosophy, especially mathematics under Johann Lanz. I assume B.A. 1605, returned from 'magisterium,' received his M.A., and began to study theology. As an ordained Jesuit professed of the fourth vow, he would have had a doctorate in theology. 5. Religion: Catholic, joined the Jesuit order in 1595. 1617, ordained as a priest. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Astronomy. Subordinate Disciplines: Optics. 7. Means of Support: Church Living; Patronage; 1603-5, spent his 'magisterium' training as a teacher at Dillingen. 1610-16, professor of Hebrew and mathematics, University of Ingolstadt, which was a Jesuit institution. 1616, took up residence at Archduke Maximilian's (of Austria) court in Innsbruck. After Maximilian's death, Leoplold continued to favor Scheiner. 1620-1, sent to the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, but then recalled to Innsbruck. I don't think Freiburg was a Jesuit institution, but the Jesuits were well established in the city and undoubtedly had connections with the university. The information that Scheiner was 'sent' and then 'recalled' sounds as though he was functioning wholly within the Jesuit order. 1622, accompanied Archduke Charles, bishop of Neisse, to Neisse. 1623, appointed (by Archduke Charles) superior of the Jesuit college to be erected in Neisse. 1624-33, in Rome, occupied with administrative problems. He appears to have been on Hapsburg diplomatic business; it is apparently not true that he was on the faculty of the Collegio Romano. 1633-9, lived in Vienna. It is unknown what he was doing there, but unlikely that it was not involved with patronage. 1639-50, in Neisse involved in the Jesuit college that he had established there. 8. Patronage: Court Patronage; Merchant; Ecclesiastic Official; Aristocratic Patronage; 1606, äuke Wilhelm V of Bavaria became interested in Scheiner's pantograph and invited him to Munich. There is no evidence that he went. Scheiner sent his three letters on sunspots, 1612, to Welser, a noted maecenas and banker to the Jesuits. The publication of the letters mentioned this. Also his Accuratior disquisitio was addressed to Welser, and he named the fifth satellite of Jupiter (which he thought he had discovered) for Welser. Sol ellipticus (1615) and Refractiones caelestes (1617) are dedicated to Maximilian, Archduke of Tirol, who inited Scheiner to his court in 1616. Maximilian died in 1618. Leopold, Bishop of Strasbourg, brother of Ferdinand II, the new Archduke, then entrusted Scheiner with the construction of a new Jesuit chapel in Innsbruck. Another major patron was Archduke Charles, Bishop of Neisse, another brother of Ferdinand II, who took Scheiner with him to Neisse, but died on a trip to Spain in 1624. Scheiner dedicated Rosa ursina to Paolo Giordano Orsini, Duke of Bracciano, in whose shop it was printed. Ferdinand II himself called Scheiner back to Vienna in 1633, from Rome. Scheiner's Prodromus was published after his death by Ferdinand III, to whom in was dedicated. 9. Technological Connections: Instruments. Between 1603 and 1605 he invented the pantograph, an instrument for copying plans on any scale. He invented a machine helioscopique which allowed measurements, especially of sun spots. 10. Scientific Societies: None SOURCES:
Schickard, Wilhelm
1. Dates: Born: Herrenberg, Germany, 22 April 1592; Died: Tübingen, 23 October 1635 Datecode: Lifespan: 43 2. Father: Unknown; No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Germany; Birth: Herrenberg, Germany. Career: Tübingen, Germany. Death: Tübingen, Germany. 4. Education: University of Tübingen; M.A. University of Tübingen. He received a B.A. (1609), and an M.A. (1611). He continued studying theology and oriental languages until 1613. 5. Religion: Lutheran. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Astronomy; Mathematics; Cartography. 7. Means of Support: Academic. Secondary Means of Support: Church Living; 1613-19, he acted as deacon or pastor in several towns around Tübingen (e.g., in 1614 he was deacon at Nürtingen). 1619, professor of Hebrew, University of Tübingen. 1631, professor of astronomy, University of Tübingen. 8. Patronage: Unknown. Patronage is not mentioned in any of the sources, but it seems possible that Mästlin, who was Schickard's teacher and precursor in the chair of astronomy, had a hand in Schickard's academic appointments. In any event, there was no academic appointment without patronage. 9. Technological Connections: Cartography; Mathematics; Instruments; Schickard was a skilled mechanic, cartographer, and engraver in wood and copperplate. He is famous as the inventor of the first calculating machine (1623). And he proposed to Kepler the development of a mechanical means of calculating ephemerides. As far as I know, he did not follow up on this. He is more significant for his work in cartography. He recognized that certain contemporary developments in cartographer made more accurate maps possible, and he advocated their use in Kurze Anweisung, wie künstliche Landtafeln auss rechtem Grund zu machen (1629). He also appears to have undertaken a survey of Württemberg, though I have seen little mention of this. He also invented a 'hand planetarum' (it is actually more like an orrery). 10. Scientific Societies: None known. Connections: He was a student, colleague, and eventual successor of Mästlin. He was a friend and correspondent of Kepler from 1617, and was among the first to mention and advocate Keplerian astronomy. He also corresponded with Boulliau, Gassendi, and Brengger. SOURCES:
Not Available and Not Consulted: Bruno
von Freytag Löringhoff,
Wilhelm Schickard und seine Rechenmaschine
von 1623, (Tübingen, 1987).
Schoener, Johannes
1. Dates: Born: Karlstadt, 16 January 1477; Died: Nuremberg, 16 January 1547 Datecode: - Lifespan: 70 2. Father: Unknown; No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: German; German; Germany; Birth: Karlstadt, Germany. Career: Bamberg and Nuremberg, Germany. Death: Nuremberg, Germany. 4. Education: University of Erfuhrt; First, he studied under the pastor of the Nuremberg Frauenkirche, master Daniel Schmidt. 1494, he studied theology at the University of Erfurt, but he left without taking a degree. He studied practical astronomy under Bernhard Walther (d. 1504) in Nuremberg. 5. Religion: Catholic. Lutheran. He was ordained a priest in 1515. 1527, he converted to Lutherism and married. Stevens writes that he married as early as 1524 and did not convert until later. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Astronomy; Geography. Subordinate Disciplines: Astrology; Medicine; Mathematics. 7. Means of Support: Church Living; Schoolmaster. Secondary Means of Support: Artisan; He served as a prebend at the Church of St. Jacob in Bamberb. At the same time (or perhaps earlier), he assembled a printing shop in his house, where he set type, carved woodcuts, and bound books. He also made globes. He was relegated to officiate early mass as a parochial vicar at Kirchehrenbach, a small village near Frochheim, after having neglected to celebrate mass. He left the priesthood altogether after rebellious peasants threatened to kill all the Roman Catholic clergy in 1525. 1526-46, he taught mathematics at the Melanchton Gymnasium in Nuremberg on the recommendation of Melanchton. 8. Patronage: Ecclesiastic Official; City Magistrate; Court Patronage; With his printed globe, he issued Luculentissima quaedam terra totius descriptio (Nuremberg, 1515), which he dedicated to the Bishop of Bamberg (Georg Schenk v. Limberg). He likewise dedicated his Solidi et sphaerici corporis sive globi astronomici canones usum et expeditam praxim ejusdem exprimentes (Nuremberg, 1517). In 1518 he was paid for binding a book for the Bishop. Eventually, all of his works were placed on the index of prohibited books. He dedicated one of his books to the Nuremberg magistrates. This laid the groundwork for Schöner's appointment to the Melanchton school. He had a patron named Johann Seyler, a prominent citizen of Bamberg, who provided financial support for his globemaking venture. His second globe, the one for which he is best known, was sold to Seyler in 1520. The globe of 1523 is dedicated to Reymer von Streytpergk, canon of the church of Bamberg, chaplain to Wigand, Bishop of Bamberg. Globi stelliferi sive sphaerae stellarum fixarum usus... and Opusculum geographicum et diversorum libris ac cartis... (1533) are dedicated to Prince Johann Friedrich of Saxony, for whom Schöner made a terrestial and a celestial globe. 9. Technological Connections: Cartography; Perhaps he might be listed for instruments inasmuch as he made globes, but this doesn't seem identical to others in this category. He certainly practiced cartography, however. 10. Scientific Societies: According to Stevens, he sent observations to Copernicus. SOURCES:
Not Available and Not Consulted: Karl Schottenloher,
'Johann Schöner und seine Hausdruckerei,' Zentralblatt für
Bibliothekswesen, 24 (1907), 145-55.
Schooten, Frans van
1. Dates: Born: Leiden, ca. 1615 (Nieuw Nederlandsch Biographisch Woordenboek does not insert the 'ca.'); Died: Leiden, 29 May 1660 Datecode: Birth Date Uncertain; Lifespan: 45 2. Father: Academic; Engineer; Frans van Schooten (the elder), professor at the engineering school connected with Leiden. The father was also a military engineer. No clear indication of financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Dutch; Career: Dutch; Death: Dutch. 4. Education: University of Leiden; Enrolled in Leiden in 1631. No source says anything about a degree, and given the tendency always to mention one, I assume then that Schooten did not persevere to one. He travelled to Paris and London about 1637, and there met the leading mathematicians. He was back in Leiden in 1643. 5. Religion: Calvinist. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Mathematics. He was trained in mathematics at Leiden, and he met Descartes there in 1637 and read the proofs of his Geometry. In Paris he collect manuscripts of the works of Viète, and in Leiden he published Viète's works. He published the Latin edition of Descartes' Geometry. The much expanded second edition was extremely influential. He also made his own contribution (modest, everyone agrees) to mathematics, especially in Exercitationes mathematicae, 1657. 7. Means of Support: Academic; Schoolmaster. 1643, he became the assistant to his father. 1645, upon the death of his father, Schooten succeeded him in Leiden. He trained DeWitt, Huygens, Hudde, and Heuraet. In the 1640's (at least) he gave private lessons in mathematics in Leiden. 1644, he considered moving to The Hague to teach mathematics. Descartes recommended him to Constantijn Huygens as the tutor to his sons. However, since the Huygens boys were coming to Leiden, Schooten decided to remain there. 8. Patronage: Scientist; Government Official; Aristocratic Patronage. Descartes' introduction opened to Schooten the circle of natural philosophers and mathematicians around Mersenne in Paris. Descartes also recommended him to Constantijn Huygens to tutor his sons in mathematics, replacing Stampioen. Schooten tutored Christiann Huygens for a year. Descartes and Constatijn Huygens supported him for the position vacated by his father's death. In some respects Schooten does not seem to have been as keyed in to patronage as most; thus he dedicated his edition of Viète to his teacher Gool. However, he dedicated this Exercitationes to Chanut, Descartes' friend and the French ambassador to Sweden. He dedicated the first edition of the Latin Geometry of Descartes to Elizabeth van de Palts. 9. Technological Connections: None Known; 10. Scientific Societies: Schooten maintained a wide correspondence, especially with Descartes. First in Paris and then in London (1641-3) he made the acquaintance of mathematical circles, with which he maintained a correspondence that is now lost. SOURCES:
Schott, Gaspar
1. Dates: Born: Koenigshofen, near Wuerzburg, Germany, 5 February 1608; Died: Wuerzburg, Germany, 22 May 1666 (If it matters, Sommervogel puts his death in Augsburg.); Datecode: - Lifespan: 58 2. Father: Unknown; No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Koenigshofen, near Wuerzburg, Germany. Career: Sicily (i.e., Italy), Germany. Death: Wuerzburg, Germany. 4. Education: University of Wurzburg; Religious Orders; D.D. 1627, entered the Society of Jesus and was sent to the University of Wuerzburg, where he studied philosophy under Athanasius Kircher. (I'll leave this in, but I suspect, especially from the presence of Kircher, that Schott was in a Jesuit college there.) The Swedish invasion (1631) forced teacher and students to flee. Schott may have accompanied Kircher to France at first. He completed his studies in theology, philosophy, and mathematics at Palermo. I am convinced that Schott studied at the Jesuit college there, not in the university. I assume a B.A. or its equivalent. As an ordained Jesuit professed of the fourth vow, he would have had a doctorate in theology. 5. Religion: Catholic. He joined the Jesuit order in 1627. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Physics; Mathematics; Natural Philosophy. His books were largely compendia of reports he received or books he read. He did repeat experiments, but is said to have done no original research. 7. Means of Support: Church Living; He remained in Palermo for twenty years, mostly teaching in the Jesuit school at Palermo, although he spent two years in Trapani. 1652-5, he was sent to Rome for three years to collaborate with Kircher on his research. 1655-66: He returned to Germany. He went first to Mainz, then to Wuerzberg, where he taught mathematics and natural philosophy. I am convinced that he taught always in Jesuit colleges. He visited Rome in 1661 and applied for a post to teach mathematics there, but was instead offered the position of head of the Jesuit college at Heiligenstadt, which he declined. 8. Patronage: Scientist; Ecclesiastic Official; Aristocratic Patronage; Court Patronage; He always revered Kircher as his master. Presumably Kircher was involved in summoning Schott to Rome in 1652. Someone always stood behind an academic appointment, even within the Jesuit order; I assume here that it was Kircher. Schott dedicated part of his Magia universalis (1658-9) to Kircher. He dedicated the work as a whole to the Bishop of Bamberg. Schott dedicated his Technica curiosa (1664) to the Elector of Mainz (who was the Archbishop). He dedicated his Thaumaturgus physicus, 1659, to the Archduke (I don't know of what) Charles Joseph. He dedicated Cursus mathematicus, 1661, to Leopold I. He dedicated Physicua curiosa, 1662, to the Elector Charles Leopold (of Mainz, I think). He dedicated Schola Steganographica, 1666, to Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden. 9. Technological Connections: Mechanical Devices; Instruments; Schott is most widely known for his works on hydraulic and mechanical instruments. A treatise on 'chronometric marvels' contains the first description of a universal joint and the classification of gear teeth. He developed a leveling instrument for use in surveying. 10. Scientific Societies: As a result of his compendium, Mechanica hydraulico-pneumatica, he became the center of a network of correspondence from other Jesuits as well as lay experimenters. He received letters from Guericke and Huygens, and was the first to make Boyle's work on the airpump widely known in Germany. SOURCES:
Scheuchzer, Johann Jakob
1. Dates: Born: Zürich, 2 August 1672; Died: Zürich, 23 June 1733 Datecode: - Lifespan: 61 2. Father: Medical Practioner; His father, Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (1645-88), was a successful physician in Zürich. In 1679 he became Stadtarzt. He died when Scheuchzer was not quite sixteen. During the 17th and 18th centuries the family was one of the leading families in Zürich. I assume he was affluent. 3. Nationality: Swiss; Swiss; Sw. Birth: Zürich, Switzerland. Career: Zürich. Death: Zürich. 4. Education: University of Zurich; University of Altdorf; University of Utrecht; M.D. 1675-9, German school. 1679-85 (or 87), Latin school. 1687-9, student in the Karolinum. 1692, he was granted a scholarship by the city of Zürich and enrolled in science and medicine courses at the University of Altdorf near Nuremberg, where he was especially influenced by Johann Sturm (1635-1703). I assume a B.A. or its equivalent. 1693, entered the University of Utrecht. He received an M.D. in 1694. After spending some months exploring the Alps, he went to Nuremberg in 1695, where he studied astronomy and mathematics for a diploma, but he was recalled to Zürich. 5. Religion: Calvinist. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Paleontology; Geography; Botany. Subordinate Disciplines: Natural History; Mathematics; Mineralogy; 7. Means of Support: Government Official; Medicine; Schoolmaster; He was assistant municipal physician and medical supervisor of the orphanage in Zürich from the end of 1695. 1698, head of the public library in Zürich. He also served as the curator of the Kunstkammer (a sort of museum of natural history). He evidently also taught during this time, but because he could not obtain an academic position he occupied a niche between the Karolinum and the University, reading private botanical and medical lectures as preparation, it seems, for medical study. He also gave lessons in physics and mathematics. In a letter, Scheuchzer mentioned a small medical practice. Steiger says that his correspondence contains almost nothing about a medical practice, He deliberately held himself back from it in order to have time for his studies (though note that most of his municipal posts were medical). This may indicate private wealth, as many details of his career do, but I have not found mention of it. 1710, he became professor of mathematics, a reasonably low post, at the Carolinum. 1733, he became the municipal physician of Zürich and professor of Natural Philosophy at the Carolinum, and Chorherr. He was also an army doctor in his canton. He served as field physician during the Toggenburger Krieg (1712). 8. Patronage: City Magistrate; Sci; 1691, he petitioned the Zürich mayor and council for a scholarship. He received 200 gulden, and then another 50 gulden for his study at Utrecht. It is clear from Steiger's account (in keeping with everything I know about the age) that every municipal appointment involved an exercise in influence or patronage, with other candidates competing under other patrons. It would also appear that Scheuchzer never had sufficient patronage; though apparently more learned than others in Zürich, he never had a position commensurate with his qualities. Leibniz arranged for him to be called by Peter the Great to be his personal physician. After this occured he received a raise in pay and decided to remain in Zürich. In 1702, the city of Zürich granted him money to support his Alpine excursions. 1708, he became a member of the Royal Society, which published his Ouresiphoites sive Hinera Tria (1708). The costs were paid by members of the society (Newton himself paid 20 pounds), who each received one of the copperplates. Hans Sloan, a member of the Royal Society, was his patron in that organization. Seuchzer dedicated a little book, Otia aestivalia circa thermas Badenses (1730), to him. 9. Technological Connections: Medical Practioner; He practiced medicine some. He was also famous for his studies of the medical effects of altitude. 10. Scientific Societies: Lp, Royal Society (London); While still a student in Zürich, he was active in the circle around Dr. Wagner which was interestedin natural history. 1694, he was invited to join the 'Collegium der Wohlgesinnten,' a Zürich science society. In 1697, he became actuary of the Wohlgesinnten and remained such for 10 years until the decay of the society. He was also selected as the 'Dog Days Lecturer,' which was apparently a municipal institution to provide edification for students during the summer vacation. 1697, he became (on the recommendation of Johann Wagenseil) a member of the Academia naturae curiosum (the Leopoldina), under the name Akarnan. 1708, He became a fellow of the Royal Society. He carried on an extensive scientific correspondence-see Steiger. SOURCES:
Not Available and Not Consulted: C. Walkmeister,
'J.J. Scheuchzer und seiner Zeit,' Bericht der St. Gallischen naturwissenschaft
Gesellschaft (1896), 364-401.
Scilla, Agostino
1. Dates: Born: Messina, Sicily, 10 August 1629; Died: Rome, 31 May 1700; Datecode: Lifespan: 71 2. Father: Government Position; His father was a notary, a public official. No information on financial status 3. Nationality: Birth: Italian; Career: Italian; Death: Italian 4. Education: None Known; Scilla was the student (in art) of Antonio Ricci-Barbalunga, who got the Senate of Messina to send Scilla to Rome to study with Andrea Sacchi. 5. Religion: Catholic. (by assumption) 6. Scientific Disciplines: Geology; Pal; Subordinate Disciplines: Natural History; He is particularly remembered as the author of La vana speculazione disingannata dal senso (1670), one of the classics of geology and paleontology. Scilla was primarily a painter. After he left Messina, his paintings were largely pastoral, so that he had an obvious interest in natural history. He accompanied Boccone on his botanical expeditions to Sicily and was cited by Boccone quite favorably. In the field of learning his primary interst was not science but numistmatics. 7. Means of Support: Artisan; Secondary Means of Support: Schoolmaster; Patronage; After five years in Rome as a student (no dates that I found are given) he returned to Messina. He was a well-known painter, who worked in Messina until 1678, many of whose works decorate the churches of Messina and Syracuse. He also had commissions in Calabria. Scilla opened a school of painting in Messina. He took part in the Messina revolt against the Spanish and was forced into exile after 1678, first briefly at the court in Turin and then at Rome from 1679, where he still functioned as a painter. 8. Patronage: City Magistrate; Ecclesiastic Official; Aristocratic Patronage; Court Patronage; See above for the Senate of Messina. I am assuming that some ecclesiastical official commissioned those paintings in churches. Scilla was a member of the Accademia della Fucina, which met at the house of Carlo Gregorio, Marquis of Poggio Gregorio, a Messinese patrician. Here Sicilian gentlemen gathered to discuss literature and science-and politics. Academies of this sort were expressions of the patronage of their leaders, and I am treating this one in such terms. I am listing the stay at the court in Turin. It is reported that in Rome Scilla was known and valued by various princes, both as a painter and as a numismaticist, and his museum of natural curiosities was much frequented. Note that Scilla's patronage was connected primarily to his painting, although there are indications of respect for his learning. Even here it is partly his knowledge of numismatics. 9. Technological Connections: None Known; 10. Scientific Societies: In Messina Scilla was a member of the Accademia della Fucina, an academy of literature and science. In Rome Scilla became a member of the academy of painting (I think this is the Accademia di S. Luca) and eventually its president. As mentioned above, he was friendly with the natural historian Boccone. SOURCES:
Sendivogius [Sedzimir, Sedziwoj,
Sdziwj z Skrska], Michael
Pseudonyms: Helicantharus Borentius (Borealis); Cosmopolitanus; Sensophax. Anagrams: Divi Leschii genus amo; Angelus doce mihi jus. 1. Dates: Born: Skorsko or Lukawica, Poland, 2 February 1566; Died: Cravar, Silesia, June [?] 1636 Datecode: Both Birth & Death Dates Uncertain Lifespan: 70; Note that Pollak indicates that the year of birth is uncertain-either 1556 or 1566. Pollak and Brückner claim he died in 1646. The generally accepted dates, however, are 1566-1636. 2. Father: Aristocrat; His parents, Jacob Sedizimir and Catherine Pelsz Rogowska, were both of noble families and had a small estate near Nowy Sacz, in the Cracow district. They are said to have been wealthy. 3. Nationality: Polish; Czechoslovak; Polish; Germany; Birth: Skorsko or Lukawica, Poland. Career: Prague, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Germany; Death: Cravar, Silesia 4. Education: University of Leipzig; University of Vienna; No confirmed primary or secondary education; probably stuied in a monastic school in Krakow. 1590, entered the University of Leipzig. In this year he met Alexander Seton in Germany. 1591, moved to the University of Vienna. No mention of a B.A. 5. Religion: Catholic (assumed). 6. Scientific Disciplines: Alchemy 7. Means of Support: Patronage; Government Official; Personal Means; Secondary Means of Support: Merchant; 1593, entered the service of Emperor Rudolf II in Prague as a courier and later served simultaneuosly as secretary to the Polish King Sigismund III. 1594, he married Veronica Stieber, a wealthy widow. In 1595 his name appears on the rolls of the University of Altdorf, probably as an imperial official rather than as a student. He may also have visited Rostock, Ingolstadt, and Cambridge. Toward the end of the 1590s Sendivogius became increasingly influential at court. In 1597, he bought the Fumberg estate from the widow of the English Alchemist Edward Kelley. He also owned two other estates (Lukawic and Lhota). In 1598, he was named privy councillor and was granted such large sums of money that he soon became one of Bohemia's most significant landowners. 1597-8, on order from Rudolph II, he travelled to the East, visiting Greece et al. In 1599, he left Prague after having been imprisoned for swindling his patron, the rich Merchant Koralek. He returned to Poland, where Wolski introduced him to King Sigismund III. He was recalled to Prague in 1602 and named privy councillor. In 1605, while on a diplomatic mission to France, to act as an intercessor for the release of Seton from a Saxon prison, he was lured to the court of Duke Friedrich of Wuerttemberg at Stuttgart. He was imprisoned, but released. After a visit to Cologne (1607), he returned to Poland, where he became a courtier to Queen Constantia, the second wife of Sigismund III. With crown marshall Mikolaj Wolski he established many smithies and iron and brass foundries in Krzepice, which later became a leading industrial center. This was undoubtedly lucrative, for he soon became the owner of several houses in Cracow. (I list this under Merchant.); Around 1619, he transferred allegiance to Emperor Ferdinand II, for whom he established lead foundries in Silesia. In 1626 he was appointed privy councillor at a salary of 500 Fl. (later 1000 Fl.), and in 1631, as compensation for long-unpaid salaries, he received the estates of Cravar and Kounty in Crnow county, Moravia. 8. Patronage: Merchant; Court Patronage; Aristocratic Patronage; Patronage of Government Official; Upon his arrival in Prague Sendivogius stayed with the physician Nikolaus Loew von Loewenstein, through whom he met the patrician merchant Ludwig Koralek von Teschin, who was an early patron. Sendivogius began his alchemical work in Koralek's own laboratory. Koralek lent Sendivogius 5600 'Schock meissnisch' (which I presume was some form of currency from Meissen) around 1595. Sendivogius still owed 2000 Schock in 1599. Sendivogius was accused of involvement in Koralek's death in 1599. He served Emperor Rudolf II and Sigismund III simultaneously in the 1590s. He became a favorite and trusted friend of Rudolf II through his alchemical work. In 1599, he was accused before the municipal court of Prague of being responsible for the death of a friend and fellow alchemist, Koralek, and sentenced to prison. After intervention from Sigismund III and/or Herrn von Hasenberg, a patron of alchemists, he was released. Rudolf's inaction in getting him out of prison soured him, and he left Prague. He was lured to the court of Duke Friedrich of Wuerttemberg at Stuttgart in 1605, who had noticed Sendivogius' claim in De lapide philosophorum (1604) to possess the secret of the philosopher's stone. The Duke put Sendivogius in prison. Sigismund III, Rudolf II, and several German princes intervened and Friedrich grew alarmed. He arranged for Sendivogius to escape and put the blame on his court alchemist, Heinrich Muehlenfells, who was condemned to die. Also related to his patronage by the Polish King Sigismund III: he was courtier to Queen Constantia, Sigismund III's second wife. Already in 1575, in Poland, he had the support of Mikolaj Wolski, then Starost (a kind of royal sheriff, often in charge of district courts) of Krzepice (near Czestochowa), and later Crown Marshall. In 1603, Sendivogius resumed alchemical work at Krzepice with continued support from Wolski and Jerzy Mniszek, the Wojewod (Palatine) of Skandomeirz. (Mniszek was famous for his role in sponsoring the false Dmitri's efforts to claim the throne of Muscovy.); 1619, he transferred allegiance back to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, now Ferdinand II, to whom he was appointed privy councillor (1626) and from whom he received two estates (1631). According to the D.S.B., 'He was undoubtedly a political double agent.' 9. Technological Connections: Metallurgy; Sendivogius was responsible for establishing foundries in Krzepice and Silesia and evidently made money out of it. He established lead foundries in Silesia. 10. Scientific Societies: Connections: His friends included the alchemists Alexander Seton, Joachim Tancke, Oswald Croll, J. Orthel, J. Kapr von Kaprstein, V. Lavinus, R. Egli, Martin Ruland, Michael Maier, and Ludwig Koralek. In 1615-16 he visited Johannes Hartmann's laboratory at Marburg. SOURCES:
Not Consulted: H. Barycz, 'Rozwoj nauki
w Polsce w dobie Odrodzenie,' Odrodzenie w Polsce. Materialy Sesji Nauk.
PAN 25-30 Pazdziernika 1953 r. T. 2: Historia Nauki. Cz. 1 w-wa 1956 pp.
61-2; 135-6. Osob. pt. Dzieje nauki w Polsce w epoce Odrodzenia. R. Bugaj,
W
poszukiwaniu kamienia filozoficznego. O Michale Sedziwojo, najslnniejszym
alchemiku polskim. (Warsaw, 1957). T. Estreicher, 'Z dziejow alchemii,'
Przeg.
Powszechny, 1927 t. 174 s. 178-83. C. Lechicki, Mecenat Zyg. III,
(Warsaw, 1932). W. Hubicki, 'The True Life of Michael Sendivogius,'
Actes
du XI Congres international d'histoire des sciences, 4 (Warsaw,
1965), 31-5.)
Sennert, Daniel
1. Dates: Born: Breslau, 25 November 1572; Died: Wittenberg, 21 July 1637; Datecode: - Lifespan: 65. 2. Father: Artisan; His father, Nicolaus Sennert, was a shoemaker from Laehn, Silesia. He was sixty-seven when Daniel Sennert was born. No firm information on financial status. 3. Nationality: German; German; Germany; Birth: Breslau, Germany; Career: Wittenberg, Germany. Death: Wittenberg, Germany 4. Education: University of Wittenburg; M.A., M.D. University of Leipzig; University of Jena; University of Frankfurt (an Oder);University of Basel; Attended schools in Breslau. 1593, enrolled at the University of Wittenberg. Received his M.A. in 1598. I assume a B.A. Studied medicine for three years at Leipzig, Jena, and Frankfurt a. d. Oder. 1601, he entered medical practice under the supervision of Johann Georg Magnus. Made a short stay at the University of Basel. 1601, he received his M.D. from the University of Wittenberg. 5. Religion: Lutheran. (assumed); Claude Bonnet, a professor at Avignon, produced an expurgated edition of his works suitable for use by Roman Catholics in 1655. Sennert was acquitted from the charge of heresy levelled by Johannes Freiburg, professor of medicine at Helmstaedt. The charge was made because Sennert held that the souls of animals as well as men were created by God out of nothing. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Medicine; Chemistry; Natural Philosophy; Sennert's first book was Institutiones medicinae, 1611, and later there were other medical works. Epitome scientiae naturalis, 1618, and Hypomnemata physicae, 1636, both dealt with general issues in natural philosophy. He contributed to the revival of atomism. Sennert was influenced by Paracelsus without being truly a Paracelsan; he wrote influentially on chemistry. Sennert's collected works alone went through nine editions within the space of forty years, and individual works were also republished. 7. Means of Support: Medicine; Academic. He practiced medicine while still a student (see above). 1602-47, professor of medicine, University of Wittenberg. He was Dean of the medical faculty six times during that period. I assume he also practiced medicine because he is referred to as having served as a physician in Wittenberg and having been as well-known as a physician as a teacher. It is recorded that Sennert remained at his post in Wittenberg through seven plagues and died in the eighth. 8. Patronage: Ecclesiastic Official; Academic; Court Patronage; Aristocratic Patronage; Perhaps Johann Georg Magnus served as a patron of sorts, though I have no evidence of their relationship other than the fact that Sennert practiced under him. The 1619 edition of De Chymicorum cum Aristotelis et Galenicis consensu ac dissensu is dedicated to the Archbishop of Magdeburg. He could have received the chair at Wittenberg only from the court. However, the sources attribute the appointment to Johann Jessen, a professor in Wittenberg. Sennert did become the personal physician to the Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg, after treating him successfully. Ramsauer mentions Sennert's medical service to a wide range of aristocrats and rulers. 9. Technological Connections: Med. 10. Scientific Societies: None SOURCES:
Not Available and Not Consulted: Jonas
Graezter, Lebensbilder hervorragender schlesischer Aerzte (Breslau,
1889). August Buchner,
Dissertationum academicarum volumen II, (Wittenberg,
1651).
Serres, Olivier de
1. Dates: Born: Villeneuve de Berg, 1539; Died: Villeneuve de Berg, 2 July 1619; Datecode: Lifespan: 80 2. Father: Lawyer; Gentry; His father, Jacques de Serres and his mother Louis de Leyris came from established families of small landowmers and lawyers in Vivarais. One of Serres' brothers was Jean de Serres, a historiographer of France. Serres inherited an estate on which he lived all his life. I think one must say that the family was affluent at the least. 3. Nationality: Birth: France; Career: France; Death: France; 4. Education: Vlc His classic education is uncertain because his father died when Serres was still young. He studied for a while at the University of Valence. There is no evidence that he graduated. By nineteen he appears to have had a liberal education. He was versed in Greek and Latin. He studied all that was written about agricultural practices. 5. Religion: Catholic. Calvinist; As a young man he was converted to Protestantism. As early as 1561 he seems to have been regarded as a leader of the local Huguenots. He was a deacon of the church of Berg. He was sent by his congregation to find a minister. During the civil war the parish church vessels were entrusted to Serres for sale. In 1562 he was appointed by the 'Etats particuleurs' of Vivarais to a position under Count Crussol. He commanded forces from 1560-70 in local campaigns. He was driven from his family estate, Pradel, more than once during these years. He also participated in the conferences to arrange local peace. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Botany; Entomology; Serres spent time at the end of the century in Paris presenting plans to Henry IV for expansion of sericulture and the diffusion of the mulberry tree. He is largely responsible for the mulberry craze and inspired the King to make extensive plantings in France. He is sometimes given the title of father of French agriculture. Serres' Théatre d'agriculture (1600) was a very popular work appearing in several editions throughout the century. The work aimed to present a complete survey of all aspects of agriculture starting with advice on running a household. He discussed domestication and cultivation of all the plants and animals he knew. He was an enthusiastic advocate of the use of irrigation to improve meadows, of careful drainage, and of conservation of water. He was among the first agriculturist north of the Alps to argue for innovation and experimentation. He supported the sowing of artificial grasses. He introduced hops to France and was the first agricultural writer to desrcibe and encourage the cultivation of maize and potatoes. I have categorized this under botany; it is the only similar case I have met. Serres acquired a national reputation as an authority on the silkworm and sericulture. Two sections of his book were published separately. La cuillette de la soye, which appeared as a preprint in 1599, gave the first detailed accounts of the life cycle of silkworms. La seconde richesse du meurier-blanc promoted a method of manufacturing course cloth from the bark of the mulberry trees. 7. Means of Support: Personal Means; Secondary Means of Support: Patronage; Serres lived his entire life on his estate, Pradel, where he practiced many of the methods presented in his Théatre. Henry IV instructed Serres to oversee the planting and care of the mulberry trees in the Tuilleries and in other areas of France. 8. Patronage: Court Patronage; Patronage of Government Official; Serres dedicated his Théatre to Henry IV; La seconde richess to M. de Believre, Chancelier of France; and La cueillette to members of the Hostel de ville de Paris. 9. Technological Connections: Agriculture; Serres introduced sericulture to France. He also proposed a method manufacturing coarse cloth from the bark of the mulberry tree. 10. Scientific Societies: SOURCES:
Servetus, Michael
1. Dates: Born: Villanueva de Sixena, Huesca, Spain, 29 September 1511. There is an element of uncertainty about the year. Servetus himself supplied conflicting evidence; he also gave the year 1509. However, most agree that 1511 is probable. Died: Geneva, 27 October 1553; Datecode: Birth Date Uncertain; Lifespan: 42 2. Father: Law; Antonio Servetus, alias Reves, was a notary. No indication of financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: Sp; Career: Sw, French; Death: Sw 4. Education: Tou; University of Paris; M.D. Possibly he attended the University of Sarazoga, but I am not listing it. He pursued legal studied in Toulouse in 1528-9. He studied in Paris in 1533 at the Collège Calvi, and then, after an interval, undertook medical studies in Paris in 1536. Although there is no university record of a medical degree, he probably earned one. I assume the equivalent of a B.A. 5. Religion: Catholic. Heterodox; At the age of fifteen Servetus entered the service of a Franciscan friar, Juan de Quintana, an Erasmian. He was already spreading arianism by 1530. In 1531 he published De trinitatis erroribus and in 1532 De trinitate. As a result of these two works he had to live under the pseudonym, Michel de Villeneuve. In 1553 he published another arian, pantheistic book, Christianismi restitutio, which led first to his condemnation by the Inquisition in France, and then, after he escaped, to his execution at the stake in Geneva. 6. Disciplines: Geography; Pharmacology; Pharmacology; Subordinate Disciplines: Medicine; Astrology. While practicing medicine around Lyon under the pseudonym, Servetus published two influential editions of Ptolemy's Geography. While he was working as a proofreader in Lyon he became interested in medicine and published two books concerned with medicine and pharmacology. One of these, a work on syrups, devotes much space to a theory of digestion. In Christianismi restitutio he published for the first time in the Latin West the concept of the minor circulation of the blood through the lungs. In Paris he defended astrology in print. 7. Means of Support: Patronage; Medical Practioner; Secondary Means of Support: Publishing; Schoolmaster; Servetus entered the service of the Franciscan Quintana in 1526. After an interruption to study law at Toulouse, in 1529 he went with Quintana, newly appointed confessor of Charles V, in the imperial retinue, travelling through Italy to Germany. He had left his patron by 1530. He was in Basel for ten months in 1530-1, staying with Oecolampadius and probably supporting himself as a corrector for a printer. After a brief period of study in Paris under his pseudonym, he moved to Lyon where he worked for a printer, as a corrector and editor. When he returned to Paris to study medicine, his Syroporum universa ratio, on the use of syrups as medicines, was highly successful and may have helped to finance his medical education. He also gave lectures to support himself. After his medical studies, Servetus practised medicine for about fifteen years-in Lyon, Avignon, Charlieu, and then, sometime after 1540, in Vienne where he stayed for twelve years. For at least a three year period in there he was the personnal physician to Archbishop Palmier of Vienne. He was also physician to Guy de Maugiron, the lieutenant governor of Dauphiné. 8. Patronage: Ecclesiastic Official; Aristocratic Patronage; Medicine; Patronage of Government Official; In addition to functioning as personal physician to Archbishop Palmier, Servetus dedicated his second edition of Ptolemy's Geography to him. Hugues de la Porte was the patron of Servetus's first edition of Ptolemy and of his edition of the Bible. Symphorien Champier, a medical humanist of Lyon, was Servetus' patron during his period in Lyon. Servetus' pharmacological tracts were written in defense of Champier against Leonard Fuchs. See above for his relation with the lieutenant governor. 9. Technological Connections: Pharmacology; Medical Practioner; 10. Scientific Societies: In Paris he was in a lively medical circle. His teachers included Sylvius, Fernel, and Guinter. Guinter hailed him, with Vesalius, as his most able assistant in dissection. On the whole, however, Servetus was a figure isolated by his theological views. SOURCES:
Not Consulted: B. Becker, ed., Autour
de Michel Servet et de Sebastien Castellion, (Haarlem, 1953).
Eloy Bulln y Fernndez,
Miguel Servet y la geografa del Renacimento,
3rd ed., (Madrid, 1945). Juan-Manuel Palacios Snchez, El illustre aragons
Miguel Servet, (Huesca, 1956).
Severin [Soerensen, Longomontanus],
Christian
1. Dates: Born: Longberg, Jutland, 4 October 1562; Died: Copenhagen, 8 October 1647 Datecode: Lifespan: 85 2. Father: Peasant - Small Farmer; Soeren Poulsen, described as a humble peasant; Clearly poor; the father died when Christian was eight. 3. Nationality: Birth: Longberg, Jutland, Denmark; Career: Denmark; Death: Copenhagen, Denmark 4. Education: University of Copenhagen; University of Rostock; M.A. Being quite poor, he did not complete his basic education until 1588. 1588, University of Copenhagen, where he studied astronomy under Tycho. I assume a B.A. Sometime between 1597-9, on leave from his position as Tycho's assistant, he studied in several German universities; he received an M.A. from the University of Rostock. 5. Religion: Lutheran (assumed). 6. Scientific Disciplines: Astronomy. 7. Means of Support: Academic. Secondary Means of Support: Patronage; Schoolmaster; Miscellaneous. Soerenson came from such poor circumstances that he had to support his studies by intermittent manual labor. 1588-99, in the service of Tycho Brahe. This relation may have continued until Tycho's death in 1601. 1603, rector of the school of Wibourg. 1605, Professor paedagogicus, University of Copenhagen. Chancellor Friis wanted him as a professor of mathematics so much that he offered to pay him out of his own pocket, because no chairs were available. Then a professor paedagogicus opened up. 1607-47, professor of mathematics and astronomy, University of Copenhagen. 1616-7, Rector of the university. 1621, moved up to chair in astronomy (known as 'Mathematicus Superior'). 8. Patronage: Scientist; Government Official; Court Patronage; Tycho supported him in the early part of his career, but he had died by the time Severin was appointed at Copenhagen, and so could not have directly influenced that. After Tycho's death he stayed with Holgar Rosenkrantz for a time. See the role of Chancellor Friis above. Astronomica Danica, which he edited, was dedicated to Christian IV. 9. Technological Connections: None 10. Scientific Societies: None SOURCES:
Shakerley, Jeremy
1. Dates: Born: Halifax, Yorkshire, November 1626; Died: India, c.1655. The last thing known about Shakerley is a letter addressed to him, in India, in 1655. By 1675 (I cite Sherburne's book of that year) he was known to be dead. Datecode: Death Date Uncertain; Lifespan: 29 2. Father: Unknown; William Shakerley. There is no information other than his name. No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: English. Career: English (I consider that he was in English culture in India.); Death: English (again the English culture in India). 4. Education: None Known; Self educated 5. Religion: Anglican; Largely by assumption-there is not much information. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Astronomy; Subordinate Disciplines: Astrology. Anatomy of 'Urania Practica', 1649, a criticism of a publication by Wing. Synopsis compendiana, 1651. Tabulae britannicae, 1653. He was the first mathematician to recognize the significance of the work of Horrocks, which he found in manuscript in the Towneley household. In India he observed a transit of Mercury, 1651, the second transit of Mercury ever observed, and a comet in 1652. He also studied the astronomical knowledge of the Brahmins. His correspondence with Lilly indicates that Shakerley, like most astronomers of his age, accepted astrology as well, though he became increasingly skeptical as the correspondence continued. 7. Means of Support: Patronage; Unknown. The London astronomer, William Lilly, supplied him with books, stationery, and other aids, 1640s-50. Lilley withdrew his support when Shakerley attacked Wing. He was a member of the Towneley household at Carré Hall, Lancashire, 1649-51. He emigrated to India in 1651, possibly as an employee of the East India Company, although his name does not appear in the company's records. The trip is obscure. He did not go there solely to observe the heavens. He could hardly have gone on his own. 8. Patronage: Scientist; Gentry. William Lilly, the astrologer. Although Lilly appears to have withdrawn his support, his connections in London may have helped Shakerley. Shakerley was taken into the Towneley household in 1649 and encouraged in his scientific pursuits. 9. Technological Connections: None. 10. Scientific Societies: Informal Connections: Correspondence with W. Lilly, 1648-50. SOURCES:
Sharrock, Robert
1. Dates: Born: Adstock (in some accounts Drayton Parslow), Buckinghamshire, c.June 1630. He was baptized on 29 June. Died: Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire, 11 July 1684; Datecode: Lifespan: 54 2. Father: Church Living; Also Robert Sharrock, the father was Rector of Adstock and of Drayton Parslow. No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: English; Career: English; Death: English 4. Education: Oxford University, L.D. Winchester College. Oxford University, New College, 1649-61; B.C.L., 1654; D.C.L., 1661. I count the B.C.L. as equivalent to a B.A. 5. Religion: Calvinist; Anglican; The Puritan authorities made him perpetual fellow of New College. He was an ordained minister in the Anglican Church after the Restoration. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Botany; History of the Propagation and Improvement of Vegetables, 1660. The book indicates an experimental approach to botany and shows extensive knowledge of the cultivation of plants. Sharrock was not primarily a scientist. He wrote as well on religion, law, and political philosophy. 7. Means of Support: Academic; Church Living; Perpertual Fellow of New College, Oxford, from 1649. Ordained 1661. The college rectory of Horwood Magna in Buckinghamshire, 1665-8. Installed as prebendary of Winchester, 1665. Rectory of East Woodhay in Hampshire, 1668. Rector of Bishop's Waltham in Hampshire, 1669. Archdeacon of Winchester, 1684. 8. Patronage: Government Official; Unknown; He owed his Fellowship at Oxford initially to Parliamentary visitors. He owed those ecclesiastical appointments to someone. To be sure, the intial one was a college advowson. I did not see any evidence that the other two were, and I think that the prebend and archdeaconry could not have been. He dedicated his book (History of the Propagation) to Boyle, but in this case, where Sharrock also wrote prefaces to Boyle's books, I will count this as pure friendship rather than patronage. It is relevant as well that Boyle had desired that Sharrock write the book. 9. Technological Connections: Agriculture; Note the word 'Improvement' in the title of the book, a word which the extended continuing title emphasized. The final edition of it, after Sharrock's death, bore the title An Improvement to the Art of Gardening. Arber calls it a practical handbook for husbandmen and gardiners. 10. Scientific Societies: Informal Connections: Friendship with Boyle. He wrote prefaces to three of Boyle's physical treatises and dedicated his own book to Boyle. SOURCES:
Sherard, William
1. Dates: Born: Bushby, Leicestershire, 27 February 1659; Died: London, 11 August 1728; Datecode: Lifespan: 69 2. Father: Unknown; George Sheerwood (or Sherwood) is described only as a gentleman. Perhaps that could mean gentry, but I find it too indeterminate to categorize. Sherard's initial career as tutor does not suggest gentry. No information on financial status. 3. Nationality: Birth: English; Career: English; Irish; Death: English 4. Education: Oxford University, L.D., University of Paris; University of Leiden; Merchant Taylor's School. Oxford University, St. John's College, 1677-83; B.C.L., 1683; D.C.L., 1694. He studied botany at Paris and Leiden between the two degrees at Oxford, 1685-8 5. Religion: Anglican. By assumption. 6. Scientific Disciplines: Botany; Natural History; Sherard collected plants in the Alps, in Italy, Greece, and Anatolia, and in Cornwall and Jersey; from his expeditions he furnished lists that John Ray utilized in his works. He published Schola botanica, a list of plants in the Jardin du Roi in Paris, 1689, and Paul Hermann's Paradisus batavus, 1698. About 1695 he began a revision of Bauhin's Pinax on which he worked for the rest of his life, though he never finished or published it. 7. Means of Support: Merchant. Secondary Means of Support: Academic; Patronage; Government Position; Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford, 1683-1703; Tutor to Sir Arthur Rawdon, 1690-4, in Ireland. Tutor to Charles, Viscount Townsend, 1694. Tutor to the eldest son of Lord Russell, 1697-9. Tutor to Henry, Duke of Beaufort, 1700-02. Commissioner for the sick and wounded, and for the exchange of prisoners, 1702. I'd like to know how he got this appointment; I'd bet a month's salary it was through the patronage of one of those families in which he tutored. The position appears t |