Petrus Apianus

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File:Peter Apian.jpg
Apianus on a 16th-century engraving by Theodor de Bry

Petrus Apianus (April 16, 1495 – April 21, 1552),[1] also known as Peter Apian, Peter Bennewitz, and Peter Bienewitz, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography.[2] His work on "cosmography", the field that dealt with the earth and its position in the universe, was presented in his most famous publications, Astronomicum Caesareum (1540) and Cosmographicus liber (1524). His books were extremely influential in his time, with the numerous editions in multiple languages being published until 1609. The lunar crater Apianus[3] and asteroid 19139 Apian are named in his honour.[2]

Life and work

File:Merton College Library, astronomy books in display cases 01.png
A 1545 print of Cosmographia, Merton College Library, Oxford (2025)

Apianus was born as Peter Bienewitz (or Bennewitz) in Leisnig in Saxony; his father, Martin, was a shoemaker. The family was relatively well off, belonging to the middle-class citizenry of Leisnig. Apianus was educated at the Latin school in Rochlitz. From 1516–1519 he studied at the University of Leipzig; during this time, he Latinized his name to Apianus (lat. apis means "bee"; "Biene" is the German word for bee).

In 1519, Apianus moved to Vienna and continued his studies at the University of Vienna, which was considered one of the leading universities in geography and mathematics at the time and where Georg Tannstetter taught. When the plague broke out in Vienna in 1521, he completed his studies with a B.A. and moved to Regensburg and then to Landshut. At Landshut, he produced his Cosmographicus Liber (1524), a highly respected work on astronomy and navigation which was to see more than 40 reprints in four languages (Latin; French, 1544; Dutch, 1545; Spanish, 1548) and that remained popular until the end of the 16th century.[4] Later editions were produced by Gemma Frisius.[5]

File:THE WORLD MAP, 1524 (and 1564) by Petrus Apianus.jpg
Cordiform projection in a map of the world by Apianus (1524), which is one of the earliest maps that shows America[6][7]

In 1527, Apianus was called to the University of Ingolstadt as a mathematician and printer. His print shop started small. Among the first books he printed were the writings of Johann Eck, Martin Luther's antagonist. This print shop was active between 1543 and 1540 and became well known for its high-quality editions of geographic and cartographic works.[citation needed] It is thought that he used stereotype printing techniques on woodblocks.[8] The printer's logo included the motto Industria superat vires in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin around the figure of a boy.[9]

File:Astronomicum Caesareum (1540).f18.jpg
A volvelle for lunar eclipses from Astronomicum Caesareum (1540)

Through his work, Apianus became a favourite of emperor Charles V, who had praised Cosmographicus liber at the Imperial Diet of 1530 and granted him a printing monopoly in 1532 and 1534. In 1535, the emperor made Apianus an armiger, i.e. granted him the right to display a coat of arms. In 1540, Apianus printed the Astronomicum Caesareum, dedicated to Charles V. Charles promised him a truly royal sum (3,000 golden guilders),[a] appointed him his court mathematician, and made him a Reichsritter (a free imperial knight) and in 1544 even an Imperial Count Palatine. All this furthered Apianus's reputation as an eminent scientist. Astronomicum Caesareum is noted for its visual appeal. Printed and bound decoratively, with about 100 known copies,[11] it included several Volvelles that allowed users to calculate dates, the positions of constellations and so on.[12][13][14] Apianus noted that it took a month to produce some of the plates. Thirty-five octagonal paper cut instruments were included with woodcuts that are thought to have been made by Hans Brosamer (c. 1495–1555) who may have trained under Lucas Cranach, Sr. in Wittemberg.[15] It also incorporated star and constellation names from the work of the Arab astronomer Azophi (Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi 903–986 Page Template:Smallcaps/styles.css has no content.CE).[16] Apianus is also remembered for publishing the only known depiction of the Bedouin constellations in 1533. On this map Ursa Minor is an old woman and three maidens, Draco is four camels, and Cepheus was illustrated as a shepherd with sheep and a dog.[17][18]

File:Apian, coat of arms, leisnig - d.jpg
Arms of coat of nobility Apian in Leisnig, Saxony

Despite many calls from other universities, including Leipzig, Padua, Tübingen, and Vienna, Apianus remained in Ingolstadt until his death. He neglected his teaching duties. Apianus's work included in mathematics – in 1527 he published a variation of Pascal's triangle, and in 1534 a table of sines – as well as astronomy. In 1531, he observed Halley's Comet and noted that a comet's tail always point away from the sun.[19] Girolamo Fracastoro also detected this in 1531, but Apianus's publication was the first to also include graphics. He designed sundials, published manuals for astronomical instruments and crafted volvelles ("Apian wheels"), measuring instruments useful for calculating time and distance for astronomical and astrological applications.[20][21]

Apianus married Katharina Mosner, the daughter of a councilman of Landshut, in 1526. They had fourteen children together – five daughters and nine sons. One of their children was Philipp Apian (1531–1589), who preserved the legacy of his father, in addition to his own research.[22]

Works

File:Ptolemaicsystem-small.png
Apian's geocentric cosmology from Cosmographia, 1524
File:Apian - Folium populi, s. d. - 1211192.jpg
Folium populi, 1533

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Whether Apian ever received the promised money is uncertain; in any case he wrote a letter to the emperor in 1549 asking him to finally pay the promised sum.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Kish (1970)
  2. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."19139 Apian (1989 GJ8)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  3. ^ Template:GPN
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Röttel, Hermine; Kauzner, Wolfgang (1995). "Die Druckwerke Peter Apians [The printed works of Peter Apian]". In Röttel, K. (ed.). Peter Apian: Astronomie, Kosmographie, und Mathematik am Beginn der Neuzeit [Peter Apian: Astronomy, cosmography, and mathematics at the beginning of the modern era] (in Deutsch). Buxheim, DE / Eichstätt, DE: Polygon-Verlag. pp. 255–276.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.van den Broecke, Steven (2006). "The use of visual media in Renaissance cosmography: The cosmography of Peter Apian and Gemma Frisius". Paedagogica Historica. 36: 130–150. doi:10.1080/0030923000360107. S2CID 143068275.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Keuning, Johannes (2008). "The history of geographical map projections until 1600". Imago Mundi. 12: 1–24. doi:10.1080/03085695508592085.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kish, George (2008). "The cosmographic heart: Cordiform maps of the 16th century". Imago Mundi. 19: 13–21. doi:10.1080/03085696508592261.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Woodward, David (2008). "Some evidence for the use of stereotyping on Peter Apian's world map of 1530". Imago Mundi. 24: 43–48. doi:10.1080/03085697008592348.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Johnson, A.F. (June 1965). "Devices of German printers, 1501–1540". The Library. s5-XX (2): 81–107. doi:10.1093/library/s5-xx.2.81. ISSN 0024-2160.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Apian, Peter (ursprünglich Bienewitz oder Bennewitz)". Bautz.de. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gingerich, Owen (2016). "Apianus's Astronomicum Caesareum and its Leipzig facsimile". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 2 (3): 168–177. doi:10.1177/002182867100200303. S2CID 125121795.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gislén, Lars (2017). "Apinanus' latitude volvelles – how were they made?". Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage. 20: 13–20.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stebbins, F.A. (1959). "A sixteenth-century planetarium". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 53: 197–203. Bibcode:1959JRASC..53..197S.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Apian, Peter; Ionides, S.A. (January 1936). "Caesars' astronomy: (Astronomicum Caesareum)". Osiris. 1: 356–389. doi:10.1086/368431. ISSN 0369-7827. S2CID 145478879.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kremer, Richard L. (2011). "Experimenting with paper instruments in fifteenth-and sixteenth-century astronomy: Computing syzygies with isotemporal lines and salt dishes". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 42 (2): 223–258. Bibcode:2011JHA....42..223K. doi:10.1177/002182861104200207. S2CID 118175748.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kunitzsch, Paul (2016). "Peter Apian and 'AZOPHI': Arabic Constellations in Renaissance Astronomy". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 18 (2): 117–124. doi:10.1177/002182868701800204. S2CID 120627901.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Stott, Carole (1995). Celestial Charts, Antique Maps of the Heavens. London, UK: Studio Editions. pp. 38–39.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Petrus Apianus's chart of 1533". Star Tales. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Barker, Peter (2008). "Stoic alternatives to Aristotelian cosmology: Pena, Rothmann, and Brahe, summary". Revue d'histoire des sciences (in français). 61 (2): 265–286. doi:10.3917/rhs.612.0265. ISSN 0151-4105.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wolfschmidt, Gudrun (1995). "Peter Apian as an astronomical instrument maker". Astronomische Gesellschaft Abstract Series. 11: 107. Bibcode:1995AGAb...11..107W.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.North, J.D. (1966). "Werner, Apian, Blagrave, and the meteoroscope". The British Journal for the History of Science. 3 (1): 57–65. doi:10.1017/s0007087400000194. ISSN 1474-001X. S2CID 143560300.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kern, Ralf (2010). Wissenschaftliche Instrumente in ihrer Zeit [Scientific Instruments in their Period] (in Deutsch). Vol. 1: Vom Astrolab zum mathematischen Besteck [From the astrolabe to mathematical instruments]. Köln, DE. p. 332.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Crupi, Gianfranco (2019). "Volvelles of knowledge : origin and development of an instrument of scientific imagination (13th-17th centuries)". JLIS.it. 10 (2). doi:10.4403/jlis.it-12534. Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  24. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.van Ostroy, Fernand Gratien (1902). Bibliographie de l'oeuvre de Pierre Apian (in français). P. Jacquin.

Further reading

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