Wilhelm Schickard

Wilhelm Schickard ( born April 22, 1592 Mr. Berg, † October 23, 1635 in Tübingen ) was a German astronomer and mathematician. He taught Hebrew and astronomy at the University of Tübingen. He used his name in the variants Schick Hart, Schickhard, Schickart, Schickardt and it Latinized forms.

Life

Wilhelm Schickard was born the son of the carpenter Lucas Schickard and the pastor's daughter Margaret Gmelin and was the nephew of the architect Heinrich Schickhardt and Wilhelm Gmelin. He attended the convent school in quake Hausen and was included in the Tubingen 1610. At the University of Tübingen in 1611, he earned his master's degree and then studied theology. From 1613 he was vicar at several places in Württemberg until 1614, he was appointed a deacon to Nürtingen. There he got to know in 1617 Johannes Kepler, who had come to Tübingen to defend his mother in a witchcraft trial. For Kepler's work Harmonice mundi he created some engravings and woodcuts.

In the following figure portrait from 1632 is located in the meeting room 2 the Old Botany (now Principal) at the University of Tübingen.

In 1619 he was appointed professor of Hebrew at the University of Tübingen. In his teaching, he was looking for a simple method to facilitate students learning. So he created the Rota Hebræa, a representation of the Hebrew conjugation in the form of two rotating discs that are superimposed and reveal the respective forms in windows. For the study of the Hebrew language he created the Horologium hebraeum, the Hebrew clock, a textbook of Hebrew in 24 chapters, which were to learn each in an hour. This book was the best-known book Schickard and was reprinted again and again until the year 1731. In 1627 he wrote a textbook for learning Hebrew to German, the Hebrew funnel.

In addition to his teaching of Hebrew he occupied himself with astronomy. In 1623 he invented a Astroscopium, one made ​​of paper cones in the interior of the star sky was mapped. Schickard was himself a gifted mechanic and built his own instruments often - which is why Kepler called it in a letter and a two-handed philosophers. In 1623 he built the first calculating machine ( called by him calculating clock ) to facilitate astronomical bills. The machine dominated the adding and subtracting of up to six digit numbers, a " memory overflow " she signaled by the ringing of a bell. To allow complex calculations (multiplication, division), Napiersche computing rods were (also called Nepersche sticks ) in the form of cylinders - similar to attached the later computational boxes of Caspar Schott - out, which served to support the further processing steps on the adding machine. The construction was lost until the 20th century, and until 1960 a working replica was created. Notes on the machine together with drawings of Schickard found in the estate of Kepler ( Kepler Schickard promised a copy, but this was destroyed by fire) and also in the reduction of Schickard itself. Schickard knew the writings of Napier, and was himself an early representative of the use of logarithms.

From 1624, he began his travels through Württemberg as a school warden for the Latin schools, the country be remeasured. To make sure that others could support him, he wrote in 1629, a statement such as artificial land boards had to make. He used the method of geodesic triangulation, which a few years earlier Willibrord Snell had invented.

In 1631 died astronomy professor Michael Maestlin, and Schickard was appointed as his successor. He held from now on the astronomical lectures. One of his most important work concerned the theory of the moon's motion. For calculation of the lunar orbit in 1631 he published the Ephemeris Lunaris, with which one could graphically determine the position of the moon in the sky at any time. He was a staunch supporter of the heliocentric system and invented his view, the first hand planetarium, which is pictured on his portrait of 1631. He corresponded with Kepler next astronomers and scientists as Ismael Boulliau and Pierre Gassendi.

After the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634 the imperial troops also occupied Tübingen, with them came the plague. In the fall of 1634 until Schickard mother died of mistreatment by soldiers, then his wife and three daughters died of the plague, he remained only his nine year old son. Schickard, who himself fell ill at the turn of the plague and recovered again, to come to terms with the occupation succeeded. Commissioned by Count Gronsfeld, who was interested in his mathematical and even more so for his geodetic work, he led from February to July 1635 area of ​​Stuttgart - Herrenberg -Tübingen and in the area Sinzheim - Bruchsal- Pforzheim surveys by. In mid-October he fell ill again on October 23, 1635 he died and was buried the following day, his son the next day.

Honors

The lunar crater Schickard was named in 1651 by Giovanni Riccioli on his map of the moon.

The sketch shown here Abacus can be found in Schickardschen sketchbook in the Württemberg State Library in Stuttgart. It was reconstructed by the Tübingen logician Bruno von Freytag- Löring Hoff 1957. Reconstructed copies can be visited in the Computer Museum of WSI Institute for computer science in Tübingen and at the Arithmeum in Bonn in Tübingen City Museum in Kornhausgasse. The mechanism of its computing machine can also try the Heinz Nixdorf Museum Forum ( Computer Museum ) in Paderborn. Named after him WSI Institute for computer science located at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.

Schickard is namesake of the WSI school in Tübingen (commercial vocational school) and is considered one of the namesake of 1962 opened Schickhardt High School in Herrenberg.

In 1989, the research company, founded in 1955 for watches and precision engineering in honor of Wilhelm Philipp Matthäus Hahn Schickard and in Hahn Schickard Society for Applied Research eV ( HSG) has been renamed.

In the Technology Park Karlsruhe since 1993, there are a WSI road.

Writings

• Comet description, handwriting, Nürtingen 1619 (WLB )
• Hebrew Rad, 1621; Rota Hebræa, per Facilitate conjugandi pridem inventa, Sculpta et explicata, Eberhard Welper, Strasbourg 1630 (MDZ ); Andreas Oehl, Leipzig 1636 ( Google Books, MDZ); 1659
• Horologium hebraeum, Dietrich Werlin, Tübingen 1623; Michael Wachsmann, Leipzig 1625 (Google Books); 1626 (Google Books); Andreas Oehl, Leipzig 1633 (MDZ ); 1636 ( MDZ); Johann Georg Cotta, Tübingen 1670 (MDZ ); 1682 (Google Books)
• Astroscopium, Dietrich Werlin, Tübingen 1623; Rudolph Kautt, Stuttgart 1646 (Google Books, ULB Sachsen- Anhalt); Friedrich Schulte, Nördlingen and Georg Wildeisen, Ulm 1655; 1659 ( GDZ ); Johann Herbort Dumpling, Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1698 (Google Books, MDZ)
• בחינת הפירושים Bechinath Happeruschim, Johann Alexander Cellius ' widow, Tübingen 1624 ( Google Books, ditto, ditto, MDZ)
• Liechtkugel darinn, Auss instructions of newlich published Wunderli right to send, Johann Alexander Cellius ' widow, Tübingen 1624 ( SLUB )
• משפט המלך Jus regium Hebraeorum e tenebris rabbinicis erutum & luci donatum, Lazarus Zetzner, Strasbourg 1625 (Google Books, ditto, ditto, MDZ); Friedrich Lanckisch, Leipzig 1674 ( Google Books, MDZ)
• The Hebraische Trächter, Tübingen 1627; The Hebraische funnel, easy to pour the language, Gottfried Gross, Leipzig 1629 (UB Frankfurt / Main; eponymous Nuremberg for Harsdorffer funnel)
• Tuarikh hey Series Regum Persiæ, Dietrich Werlin, Tübingen 1628 ( MDZ)
• Short instruction how to make artificial land boards Auss right reason, Stephan Michel Pacher, 1629 ( dilibri ); Johann Georg Cotta, Tübingen 1669 (Google Books, MDZ, ditto, SLUB )
• Description concerning the miracle Zaichens, Dietrich Werlin, Tübingen 1630 (UB Tübingen, WDB )
• Anemographia seu discursus philosophicus de ventis, Tübingen 1631
• Ephemeris Lunaris, 1631
• Grundtlicher report from the Zwo red side - suns, Stephan Michel Pacher, 1633 ( Tübingen University Library )
• Purim immersive Bacchanalia Judaeorum, Dietrich Werlin, Tübingen 1634

Letters

• Epistolae Schickarti W. & M. Berneggeri Mutuae, Josiah Stadel, Strasbourg 1673 (Latin; under abolition of posts, could attract the offense; Google Books, MDZ)
• Friedrich Seck (ed.): correspondence, 2 volumes ( Volume 1: 1616-1632, Volume 2: 1633-1635 ), From Man Holzboog, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 2002, ISBN 3-7728-2162-6 (Latin - German )