Johann Jacob Zimmermann (November 25, 1642 – 1693) was a German

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

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 ...

millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenariani ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, and

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 ...

Life

Zimmermann was born in Vaihingen,

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

(now

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) on November 25, 1642."Who Do You Think You Are?", tracing lineage of Josh Groban back to his 8th grandfather, Johann Jacob Zimmermann He lived in

Nürtingen Nürtingen () is a town on the river Neckar in the district of Esslingen in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. History The following events occurred, by year: *1046: First mention of ''Niuritingin'' in the document of Speyer. ...

, and studied

theology 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 ...

at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

, where he was awarded the title ''Magister'' in 1664. An astronomer and

astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

, Zimmermann produced one of the first

Equidistant Conic Projection The equidistant conic projection is a conic map projection commonly used for maps of small countries as well as for larger regions such as the continental United States that are elongated east-to-west. Also known as the simple conic projection, ...

star charts of the northern hemisphere in 1692. While at University, he also was a singing instructor. He took his first post as a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

minister at

Bietigheim (Baden) Bietigheim is a village in the district of Rastatt in Baden-Württemberg in Southwestern Germany. It is located east of the Rhine river and thus the border to France, west of the Black Forest (more precisely the Northern Black Forest), south of ...

in 1671. In the early 1680s, he wrote treatises on two comets that caused widespread fears among the population; he charted their course astronomically and interpreted their meanings astrologically. Subsequently, he combined his astrological insights with the expectation of a millenarian realm of Christ on earth. Published under the pseudonym Ambrosius Sehmann von Caminiez (an anagram of his real name), his ''Muthmassliche Zeit-Bestimmung'' set out Zimmermann's belief that the dramatic upheavals ushering in Christ's kingdom on earth would occur in or around 1693. As his superiors in the Lutheran church viewed millenarianism as a dangerous heresy, Zimmermann was removed from his ministry in 1685. Another charge raised against him was that he adhered to the theosopher

Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme (; ; 24 April 1575 – 17 November 1624) was a German philosopher, Christian mystic, and Lutheran Protestant theologian. He was considered an original thinker by many of his contemporaries within the Lutheran tradition, and his first ...

, whose complete works had been published in 1682. Since Zimmermann did not renounce his millenarian views, he and his family were exiled from Württemberg in February 1686. After spending time in Nuremberg, Frankfurt on Main, Amsterdam, and Heidelberg, the Zimmermanns settled in Hamburg, where Johann Jacob made a living as a writer and teacher. In this setting, he wrote his ''Scriptura Sacra Copernizans'', which defended the astrological theories of

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic Church, Catholic cano ...

. As a testimony to his importance as a scientific writer, the work was reprinted in Hamburg in 1706 and 1736. While in Hamburg, Zimmermann also gradually attracted like-minded religious dissenters who were dissatisfied with the intolerance of the religious establishment. In 1693 a group of around 40 people left Hamburg to emigrate to the New World. Zimmermann died as the group of eleven families were preparing to travel from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. His disciple

Johannes Kelpius Johannes Kelpius (; 1667 – 1708) was a German Pietist, mystic, musician, and writer. He was also interested in the occult, botany, and astronomy. He came to believe with his followers – called the "Society of the Woman in the Wilderness" – ...

was elected to take Zimmermann's title of ''magister'', leading "the Hamburg Group" (including Zimmermann's widow) to an area near

Wissahickon Creek Wissahickon Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill River in Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties, Pennsylvania. Wissahickon Creek rises in Montgomery County, runs approximately 23 miles (37 km) passing through and dividing Northwest ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Here they established a religious community which, while still famed in local legend, dissolved shortly after Kelpius' death in the early eighteenth century. Zimmermann is mentioned (as "Mr. Zimmerman") in Book 3 of

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

's ''

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (English: ''Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'') often referred to as simply the (), is a book by Isaac Newton that expounds Newton's laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation. The ''Principia'' is written in Latin and ...

'' in 1687 (on p. 505) as having observed the

Great Comet of 1680 C/1680 V1, also called the Great Comet of 1680, Kirch's Comet, and Newton's Comet, was the first comet discovered by telescope. It was discovered by Gottfried Kirch and was one of the brightest comets of the seventeenth century. Overview The co ...

. Johann Jacob Zimmermann believed a person's close relationship with God was more important than having a close relationship with the church, believing most, if not all, of the churches in Europe were corrupt. He believed the wonders in the sky were signs of the end times, and felt a change would occur in 1693. Instead, Zimmermann died in 1693 at the age of 50. An old German letter stated that Zimmermann died en route to America and was buried in

. It also stated that the writer of the letter had begged Zimmermann not to go.

Legacy

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

, singer, is the 8 times great grandson of Johan Zimmerman.

References

Works

* ''Auf alle und jede Hypotheses applicable Fundamental-Aufgaben von den Sonn- und Mond-Finsternisssen.'' Hamburg 1691 * ''Coniglobium...Eine vortheilhafftige und nach dem... Hevelianischen Gestirn-Register eingerichtete...Himmelskugel.'' Hamburg 1704 * ''Muthmassliche Zeit-Bestimmung...Göttlicher Gerichten über das Europeische Babel''. o.O. 1684 * ''Scriptura S. Copernizans...Astronomischer Beweissthum des Copernicanischen Welt-Gebäudes''. Hamburg 1690 *Collection
Aktuelles Verzeichnis der Werke Zimmermanns
im VD17

Sources

*German Wikipedia: "Johann Jacob Zimmermann" :de:Johann Jacob Zimmermann *Encyclopedia Universalis: https://web.archive.org/web/20070927185924/http://www.universalis.fr/corpus-universalis/1//T232294/universalis/article.htm *"German-American Yesteryears: Johannes Kelpius, The Maddest of Good Men" By Robert A. Selig, June/July 1999 : https://web.archive.org/web/20061020235550/http://www.germanlife.com/Archives/1999/9906_01.html *"Horologium Achez" by Julius Sachse, in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. XXXIV, January, 1895. *

Gerhard Dünnhaupt Gerhard Dünnhaupt, FRSC (born August 15, 1927 in Bernburg (Saale)) is a German bibliographer, literary historian, emeritus professor of the University of Michigan, an honorary life member of the Modern Language Association of America, Elected Fe ...

: "Johann Jacob Zimmermann (1644-1693)", in: ''Personalbibliographien zu den Drucken des Barock'', Bd. 6. Stuttgart: Hiersemann 1993, S. 4344-55. *Mike A. Zuber, 'Copernican Cosmotheism: Johann Jacob Zimmermann and the Mystical Light', ''Aries'' 14.2 (2014

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmermann, Johann Jacob 1642 births 1693 deaths People from Vaihingen an der Enz 17th-century apocalypticists 17th-century Christian mystics 17th-century German mathematicians 17th-century German astronomers 17th-century German Lutheran clergy German male non-fiction writers German non-fiction writers Protestant mystics

Life

Legacy

See also

References

Works

Sources