Johan Ludvig Heiberg (27 November 1854 – 4 January 1928) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and historian. He is best known for his discovery of previously unknown texts in the

Archimedes Palimpsest The Archimedes Palimpsest is a parchment codex palimpsest, originally a Byzantine Greek copy of a compilation of Archimedes and other authors. It contains two works of Archimedes that were thought to have been lost (the ''Ostomachion'' and the ' ...

, and for his edition of ''

Euclid's Elements The ''Elements'' ( grc, Στοιχεῖα ''Stoikheîa'') is a mathematical treatise consisting of 13 books attributed to the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postul ...

'' that T. L. Heath translated into English. He also published an edition of Ptolemy's ''

Almagest The ''Almagest'' is a 2nd-century Greek-language mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy ( ). One of the most influential scientific texts in history, it canon ...

''.

Early life and education

Heiberg was born in

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's List of cities in Denmark by population, fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an Urban area, urban population of 143,598 (1 July ...

, the son of medical doctor Emil Theodor Heiberg (1820–93) and Johanne (Hanne) Henriette Jacoba Schmidt (1821–83). He was related to 19th-century Danish poet Johan Ludvig Heiberg (1791-1860). His sister, Johanne Louise Heiberg (1860–1934), married biochemist Max Henius (1859–1935). Heiberg matriculated from

Aalborg Cathedral School Aalborg Cathedral School ( da, Aalborg Katedralskole) is the oldest gymnasium in North Jutland, Denmark. There are about 80 teachers at Aalborg Cathedral School and approximately 760 students who are assigned to 24 high school classes and 6 High ...

in 1871. He and acquired a degree in classical philology from the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1876 and spent the next few years teaching. He acquired a

doctorate degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

with the dissertation ''Quæstiones Archimedeæ'' in 1879.

Career

From 1884 to 1896, alongside first Søren Georg Møller (1834–1890) and then Søren Ludvig Tuxen (1850-1919), he was principal of Borgerdyd School in

Østerbro Østerbro () (literally, "Eastern Bridge") is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located just north of the city centre, outside the old city gate Østerport which, after it was moved around 1700, used to be located clos ...

. Heiberg was Professor of Classical Philology at the

from 1896 until 1924 and Professor of Archeology from 1896 until 1911. He became a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters in 1893 and served as its editor in 1902–13. He was president of Rask-Ørstedfondet from 1919 until his death. Among his more than 200 publications were translations of the works of

Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists i ...

(1880 and 1912),

Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ge ...

(with Heinrich Menge) (1883–1916),

Apollonius of Perga Apollonius of Perga ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Περγαῖος, Apollṓnios ho Pergaîos; la, Apollonius Pergaeus; ) was an Ancient Greek geometer and astronomer known for his work on conic sections. Beginning from the contribution ...

(1891–93), Serenus of Antinouplis (1896), Ptolemy (1898/1903), and

Hero of Alexandria Hero of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἥρων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, ''Heron ho Alexandreus'', also known as Heron of Alexandria ; 60 AD) was a Greek mathematician and engineer who was active in his native city of Alexandria, Roman Egypt. He ...

(1899). Many of his editions are still in use today.

Archimedes Palimpsest

The Archimedes Palimpsest is a 10th-century parchment codex palimpsest. Heiberg inspected the vellum manuscript in the library of The

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...

at Istanbul in 1906, and realized that it contained mathematical works by

that were unknown to scholars at the time. Heiberg was permitted by the Greek Orthodox Church to take photographs of the palimpsest's pages, and from these he produced transcriptions, published between 1910 and 1915 in a complete works of Archimedes. Heiberg's examination of the manuscript was with the naked eye only, while modern analysis of the texts has employed

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 ...

and ultraviolet light. The Archimedes Palimpsest is currently stored at the Walters Art Museum in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, Maryland.

Personal life

On 6 April 1879, he was married to Cathrine Asmussen (7 October 1856 - 25 August 1929), daughter of first lieutenant and later captain Michael Overgaard Asmussen (1827–92) and Laura Nicoline Margrethe Johnsen (1830–92). Heiberg is one of the men seen in

Peder Severin Krøyer Peder Severin Krøyer (; 23 July 1851 – 21 November 1909), also known as P. S. Krøyer, was a Danish painter. Life Growing up and early training Krøyer was born in Stavanger, Norway, on 23 July 1851 to Ellen Cecilie Gjesdal. He was rai ...

's monumental 1897 group portrait painting '' A Meeting in the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters''. He was also painted by Harald Slott-Møller (c. 1900, Frederiksborg Museum) and by Niels Vinding Dorph (1907, Frederiksborg Museum). He is also seen in drawings by Alfred Schmidt (Frederiksborg Museum) and Aage Roose (1924, Frederiksborg Museum). Heiberg was created a Knight in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1907 and a Commander Second Class in 1924. He was awarded the Cross of Honour in 1916. The French Academy of Sciences awarded him the Prix Binoux for 1912.

Selected works

*''Glossae medicinales'' (1924) *''Attiske Gravmæler'' (1895) *''Euclidis Opera omnia'' (1883-1916), Leipzig, Teubner, 9 volumes (including the Elements in volumes 1-5, 1883–1888), with Heinrich Menge *''Quæstiones Archimedeæ'' (1879)

Notable students

* Ingeborg Hammer-Jensen, philologist and historian of science.

References

External links

The Archimedes Palimpsest at the Walters Art Museum

PDF scans of Heiberg's edition of the works of Archimedes, now in the public domain
(in Classical Greek)
PDF scans of Heiberg's edition of Ptolemy, Ptolemy's
''

''] (in Classical Greek)
How do we know about Greek mathematics?

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heiberg, Johan Ludvig 1854 births 1928 deaths People from Aalborg University of Copenhagen alumni University of Copenhagen faculty 19th-century Danish historians 20th-century Danish historians 19th-century Danish philologists 20th-century Danish philologists Danish historians of mathematics Commanders Second Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the Cross of Honour of the Order of the Dannebrog Members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters Burials at Holmen Cemetery Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy