Jacopo Dondi dell'Orologio

Jacopo de ' Dondi, Dondi Jacopo dall'Orologio (* 1293 in Chioggia / Italy, † in Padua / Italy 1359 ) was an Italian doctor, astronomer and clockmaker. He is the father of Giovanni de Dondi, also Giovanni Dondi dall'Orologio.

Life

Jacopo was the doctor's son Isaac de ' Dondi. After studying at the University of Padua, he began his career as a community physician and teacher in his hometown. In addition to his work, Jacopo was intensely occupied with astronomy and horology. In 1342 he became a professor at the Medical Faculty of the University of Padua. He was married and had at least one child. Jacopo was buried in the family tomb in Padua, later, his son Giovanni was buried.

Works

In his apartment opposite the Pozzo Mendolo he developed the construction plans of a large Schlagwerkuhr for his patron Ubertino of Carrara. This clock was installed in 1344 in the tower of the Palazzo del Capitanio. Presumably, they showed the hours 1-24 clock with different strokes. At the same time they showed the phases of the moon and the position of the sun in the star circles. Both clock and tower were destroyed in 1390 when the Milan conquered the city. From a clock in the clock tower of Padua is claimed to be a copy of that first destroyed clock. However argue about this authorship scholars, as it could also be that the design of the remaining clock of Jacopo's son Giovanni comes.

In addition to his work as a watchmaker Jacopo remained active as a scientist. He published books on philological and pharmacological topics as well as a treatise on the seas. Little is known about his philological works.

His most important publication was a book written in 1355 about the pharmacology, the aggregator Medicamentorum, Mr. de medicinis simplicibus. This pioneering work has become a standard reference for physicians and even 1470, so over a hundred years later, it was listed at the universities as a useful book for aspiring physicians and reissued again and again until the 16th century. Digitized edition of 1543 edition.

His treatise on the seas, the De fluxu et refluxu maris, deals with the different tide levels during the lunar cycle. He described the tide height to each other depending on the state of the sun and moon and came to the conclusion that the moon has a greater effect on the level of the tides than the sun. This situation, which is today a matter of course, was a sensational discovery for the people of the Italian Renaissance.