Jon Jakobsen Venusinus (c. 1558 – 1608) was a Danish theologian, naturalist and historian. He was born on the island of Ven as the son of the local pastor, Jakob Jonsen. The father was transferred to

Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...

in 1563, where Jon Jakobsen assumed the surname ''Coronensis'', which he changed to ''Venusinus'' after the island of Ven became widely known due to the observatories built there by

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was k ...

. He visited the school at Frederiksborg, and later studied in Copenhagen and Rostock. In 1579 David Chytræus recommended him to Frederick II, who granted him an annuity to support his studies. Venusinus spent some years travelling in Europe, visiting Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, and completed a master's degree in Wittenberg. Returning to Denmark, he was made parish priest in Herfølge and Sædder and dean of Bjæverskov Herred in 1584, a position in which he was succeeded by Claus Christoffersen Lyschander in 1587. Venusinus married Agathe, the daughter of professor John Sascerides in 1585, and after the death of his first wife in 1589 he married Karine Dankertsdatter, widow of canon Hans Leiel in Roskilde. It appears that both marriages remained childless, but he adopted the son of his second wife, Dankert Leiel. The position in Herfølge was one of the most lucrative in the country, but Venusinus appears to have preferred life in the capital, and he moved to Copenhagen in 1587 where he was made pastor of the Church of the Holy Ghost. He was accused of holding

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sympathies, due to his refusal to perform baptismal exorcism, and he was suspended from office in 1588. He petitioned Christian IV to abolish baptismal exorcism; his request was not granted, but in a partial success for Venusinus, the king himself had one of his children baptized without the ceremony. Although Venusinus was not on good terms with the Copenhagen academy, he was appointed professor of physics (i.e. natural sciences) "by royal command" in 1600, under which title he undertook the construction of a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

. He was among the first at Copenhagen University to accept the Copernican worldview and he held lectures on magnetism. After the death of

Niels Krag Niels Krag (1550-1602), was a Danish academic and diplomat. Krag was a Doctor of Divinity, Professor at the University of Copenhagen, and historiographer Royal. Mission to Scotland In August 1589 the Danish council decided that Peder Munk, Breide ...

in 1602, he was also appointed Royal Historian. In 1603 he switched from the chair of physics to that of rhetoric and held lectures on Danish antiquity (''Antiquitates rerum Danicarum''). In 1606 he accompanied Christian IV to England on the king's visit to his brother-in-law

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, where his erudition attracted considerable attention. In 1607, Venusinus was endowed with Soro Abbey, which allowed him to retire from all paid academic work, and he intended to focus on compiling a history of Denmark, but he died, around the age of fifty, on 30 January of the following year.

References

*Carl Frederik Bricka, ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon'' 18 (1904)
p. 393
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jakobsen Venusinus, Jon 16th-century Danish historians 17th-century Danish historians 1550s births 1608 deaths 16th century in Landskrona Year of birth uncertain 17th-century Danish Lutheran clergy 16th-century Danish Lutheran clergy