![Fotothek df tg 0004503 Geometrie ^ Trigonometrie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Fotothek_df_tg_0004503_Geometrie_%5E_Trigonometrie.jpg)
Bartholomaeus Pitiscus (also ''Barthélemy'' or ''Bartholomeo''; August 24, 1561 – July 2, 1613) was a 16th-century
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
trigonometrist,
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
and
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
who first coined the word ''
trigonometry
Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies. T ...
''.
Biography
Pitiscus was born to poor parents in
Grünberg (now Zielona Góra, Poland), then part of the
Duchy of Glogau/Głogów, one of the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
-ruled
Duchies of Silesia
The Duchies of Silesia were the more than twenty divisions of the region of Silesia formed between the 12th and 14th centuries by the breakup of the Duchy of Silesia, then part of the Kingdom of Poland. In 1335, the duchies were ceded to the King ...
.
He studied theology in
Zerbst
Zerbst () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until an administrative reform in 2007, Zerbst was the capital of the former Anhalt-Zerbst district.
Geography
Zerbst is situated in the Anhalt-Wittenberg regio ...
and
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. A
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
, he was appointed to teach the ten-year-old
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (german: Kurfürst Friedrich IV. von der Pfalz; 5 March 1574 – 19 September 1610), only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" (german: ...
of the Rhine, by Frederick's Calvinist uncle
Johann Casimir of Simmern
John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern (German: ''Johann Casimir von Pfalz-Simmern'') (7 March 1543 – Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition) was a German prince and a younger son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine. A firm Calvinist, he was a lea ...
, as Frederick's father had died in 1583. Pitiscus was subsequently appointed court
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
at
Breslau (Wrocław) and court preacher to Frederick. Pitiscus supported Frederick's subsequent measures against the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.
Pitiscus achieved fame with his influential work written in Latin, called ''Trigonometria: sive de solutione triangulorum tractatus brevis et perspicuus'' (1595, first edition printed in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
), which introduced the word ''trigonometry'' to the English and French languages, translations into which had appeared in 1614 and 1619, respectively. It consists of five books on
plane
Plane(s) most often refers to:
* Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft
* Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface
Plane or planes may also refer to:
Biology
* Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant
* ''Planes' ...
and
spherical trigonometry
Spherical trigonometry is the branch of spherical geometry that deals with the metrical relationships between the sides and angles of spherical triangles, traditionally expressed using trigonometric functions. On the sphere, geodesics are gr ...
. Pitiscus is sometimes credited with inventing the
decimal point
A decimal separator is a symbol used to separate the integer part from the fractional part of a number written in decimal form (e.g., "." in 12.45). Different countries officially designate different symbols for use as the separator. The choi ...
, the symbol separating integers from decimal fractions, which appears in his trigonometrical tables and was subsequently accepted by
John Napier
John Napier of Merchiston (; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. His Latinized name was Ioann ...
in his logarithmic papers (1614 and 1619).
Pitiscus edited ''
Thesaurus mathematicus'' (1613) in which he improved the trigonometric tables of
Georg Joachim Rheticus
Georg Joachim de Porris, also known as Rheticus ( /ˈrɛtɪkəs/; 16 February 1514 – 5 December 1576), was a mathematician, astronomer, cartographer, navigational-instrument maker, medical practitioner, and teacher. He is perhaps best known for ...
and also corrected Rheticus’s ''Magnus Canon doctrinæ triangulorum''.
Reconstruction of Pitiscus' tables
Pitiscus died in Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
. The lunar crater
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated.
History
The wor ...
Pitiscus is named after him.
The classical scholar Samuel Pitiscus Samuel Pitiscus (30 March 1637 – 1 February 1727) is a Dutch historian and classicist. He was a nephew of Bartholomaeus Pitiscus.
Biography
Samuel Pitiscus was born in Zutphen as the son of a vicar. His parents were German immigrants coming f ...
(1637–1727) was his nephew.
Works
*
Notes
References
* S. Gottwald, H.-J. Ilgauds, K.-H. Schlote (Hrsg.): ''Lexikon bedeutender Mathematiker''. Verlag Harri Thun, Frankfurt a. M. 1990
External links
*
* Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language.
It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...
:de:s:ADB:Pitiscus, Bartholomaeus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitiscus, Bartholomaeus
1561 births
1613 deaths
People from Austrian Silesia
16th-century German astronomers
16th-century German mathematicians
17th-century German mathematicians
German Calvinist and Reformed ministers
People from Zielona Góra
16th-century German writers
16th-century German male writers
17th-century German writers
17th-century German male writers