Christine Kirch (1696 in

Guben Guben (Polish and Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße district, Guben has a population of 20,049. Along with Frankfurt (Oder) and Görlitz ...

, Germany – 6 May 1782), was a German astronomer.

Life

She was the daughter of the astronomers

Gottfried Kirch Gottfried Kirch (; also KircheKenneth Glyn Jones, ''The Search for the Nebulae'', Alpha Academic, 1975, p. 19. , Kirkius; 18 December 1639 – 25 July 1710) was a German astronomer and the first "Astronomer Royal" in Berlin and, as such, directo ...

and

Maria Margarethe Kirch Maria Margaretha Kirch (''née'' Winckelmann, in historic sources named Maria Margaretha Kirchin; 25 February 1670 – 29 December 1720) was a German astronomer. She was one of the first famous astronomers of her period due to her writing on ...

and the sister of

Christfried Kirch Christfried Kirch (24 December 1694, Guben – 9 March 1740, Berlin) was a German astronomer and almanac publisher. Life and work He was born in Guben, Germany the son of the astronomers Gottfried Kirch and Maria Margaretha Kirch. Christfrie ...

. She and her sister Margaretha Kirch were educated in astronomy from the age of ten. As a child Kirch assisted her parents in their astronomical observations. Reportedly the young Kirch was responsible for taking time of observations by using a

pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...

. As she became older Kirch was instructed in calculating calendars. She assisted first her mother and later her brother in calculating various calendars. Until 1740 Kirch did not receive a salary for her contributions, but benefitted from small donations to her from the Berlin Academy of Sciences. Following the death of her brother Christfried the academy relied on her for assistance in calculating calendars. She took responsibility for calculating the calendar for

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, a province Prussia conquered in the early 1740s. The academy had a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

on calendars and the Silesia calendar generated significant income for the academy. Thus in 1776 Kirch received a respectable salary of 400 Thaler from the academy. Kirch continued her calendar work for the academy up to her old age and was held in great esteem. At the age of 77 the academy elevated her to the status of

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

, and she continued to receive a salary from the academy without being obliged to work. She introduced the astronomer Johann Bode to calendar making. She died in 1782 as a respected astronomer.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirch, Christine 1696 births 1782 deaths People from Guben 18th-century German astronomers Women astronomers German women scientists 18th-century women scientists