Leopold Prowe

Leopold Friedrich Prowe ( born October 14, 1821 in Thorn, † September 26, 1887 ibid ) was a high school teacher, historian and was especially known for his research on the who was also born at Thorn Nicolaus Copernicus. Prowes comprehensive biography was published under the title of Nicolaus Copernicus.

Prowe was born as the son of Thorner alderman Prowe. He passed his Abitur examination at 18 years and then went for further study to Leipzig. Prowe then returned as a teacher at the Thorner School and was involved in the 1853 creation of the Copernicus monument of Friedrich Tieck from Berlin, which the Thorner Memorial Committee had set as a goal in its creation. From the committee went 1854 the Copernicus Club for Science and Art to Thorn, whose chairman was Leopold Prowe from 1870/71 until his death.

Was the question of the nationality of the astronomers still excluded by the monument, as referred Prowe given the German - Polish conflict and the " new national demonstrations of Poland " 1859 position and demanded that the Germans would have to quit their previous national indifference to Copernicus. 1864 Maximilian Curtze was his employee who moved from Ballenstedt to Thorn and there also taught at the high school.

The Copernicus Biography of Prowe was the first in two hundred years, which was quite detailed and accurate. It is still considered unsurpassed. The New German Biography characterizes it as a " standard work due to the meticulous description and the location of the liberal author, who is not committed to any national or religious ideology. " Before that, there were dozens of Copernicus biographies, including that of Pierre Gassendi, and various Polish works that completely disappeared during the partitions of Poland in 1772, which resulted in Poland from 1795 by the maps represented the Polish national interests in exile. Therefore, Copernicus was in some as poles until Prowe and others which counteracted. Prowe traveled for his studies several countries to visit the preserved original documents. He also had good access to the Thorner documents by his father's position.

Prowe also reported the misinformation of the librarian Nicolaus Comnenus Papadopoli from 1726 about an alleged sighting of a registration of Copernicus ' in a National Polonia in Padua. This was revealed by Carlo Malagola 1880. The 1876 was already listing to Copernicus in the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie had taken over the representation of Papadopoli, but mention the proven also by Malagola enrollment in the German nation to Bologna.

Prowe also wrote about wine cultivation in the country Prussia.

Since 1973, the 500th year of birth of the astronomer, Prowes work is continued by the Nicolaus Copernicus Complete Edition.

Works (selection)

• For the biography of Nicolaus Copernicus, Torun, 1853, online.
• Mittheilungen from Swedish archives and libraries, Berlin, 1853, online.
• Nicolaus Copernicus in his relations with the Duke Albrecht of Prussia. Paper presented at the public meeting of the Copernicus Society for Science and the Arts on 19 February 1855 Thorn 1855 online.
• About the place of death and the grave of Copernicus. In: New Prussian provincial leaves. Third episode, Volume 11, Konigsberg 1866, pp. 213-245, online.
• The memory of Copernicus in the grateful posterity. In: New Prussian provincial leaves. Third episode, Volume 11, Konigsberg 1866, pp. 353-402, online.
• Nicolaus Copernicus. Two volumes. Weidmannsche bookstore, Berlin 1883-1884 Volume 1, part 1, line
• Volume 1, part 2, line
• Volume 2, online.