Abraham Gotthelf Kästner (27 September 1719 – 20 June 1800) was a German

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

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

matist. He was known in his professional life for writing textbooks and compiling encyclopedias rather than for original research.

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1 July 1742 – 24 February 1799) was a German physicist, satirist, and Anglophile. As a scientist, he was the first to hold a professorship explicitly dedicated to experimental physics in Germany. He is remembered for ...

was one of his doctoral students, and admired the man greatly. He became most well known for his epigrammatic poems. The crater Kästner on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

is named after him.

Life

Kästner was the son of law professor Abraham Kästner. He married Anna Rosina Baumann in 1757 after a 12-year engagement. She died on 4 March 1758, less than a year later, of a lung disease. Later Kästner had a daughter Catharine with his cleaning lady. Kästner studied law, philosophy, physics, mathematics and metaphysics in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

from 1731, and was appointed a

Notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

in 1733. He gained his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

from the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

in 1739, and lectured there in mathematics, philosophy, logic and law, becoming an associate professor in 1746. In 1751 he was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

. In 1756 he took up a position as full professor of natural philosophy and geometry at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

. In 1763, succeeding

Tobias Mayer Tobias Mayer (17 February 172320 February 1762) was a German astronomer famous for his studies of the Moon. He was born at Marbach, in Württemberg, and brought up at Esslingen in poor circumstances. A self-taught mathematician, he earned a l ...

, he became director of the observatory as well. One of his doctoral students was the physicist and

aphorist An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

, who became a colleague of his at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

. Other notable doctoral students were

Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben was a German naturalist from Quedlinburg. Erxleben was professor of physics and veterinary medicine at the University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of ...

Johann Pfaff Johann Friedrich Pfaff (sometimes spelled Friederich; 22 December 1765 – 21 April 1825) was a German mathematician. He was described as one of Germany's most eminent mathematicians during the 19th century. He was a precursor of the German school ...

(doctoral advisor of

Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

Johann Tobias Mayer Johann Tobias Mayer (5 May 1752 – 30 November 1830) was a German physicist. He was mainly well known for his mathematics and natural science textbooks. ''Anfangsgründe der Naturlehre zum Behuf der Vorlesungen über die Experimental-Physik'', ...

Heinrich Wilhelm Brandes Heinrich Wilhelm Brandes (; 27 July 1777 – 17 May 1834) was a German physicist, meteorologist, and astronomer. Brandes was born in 1777 in Groden near Ritzebüttel (a former exclave of the Free Imperial City of Hamburg, today in Cuxhaven), th ...

Farkas Bolyai Farkas Bolyai (; 9 February 1775 – 20 November 1856; also known as Wolfgang Bolyai in Germany) was a Hungarian mathematician, mainly known for his work in geometry. Biography Bolyai was born in Bolya, a village near Hermannstadt, Grand Pr ...

(father of

János Bolyai János Bolyai (; 15 December 1802 – 27 January 1860) or Johann Bolyai, was a Hungarian mathematician, who developed absolute geometry—a geometry that includes both Euclidean geometry and hyperbolic geometry. The discovery of a consisten ...

), and

Georg Klügel Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: People * George (given name) * ...

. Kästner died in 1800 in Göttingen.

Work

Kästner, Abraham Gotthelf – De habitu matheseos et physicae ad religionem, 1752 – BEIC 1451380

Kästner became most well known for his poems, which appeared first in print without his consent in 1781 and were notable for their biting humour and sharp irony on different contemporary personalities. They were published in ''Vermischten Schriften 1 und 2'' (Altenburg 1783, 2 volumes), and further poems were published in ''Gesammelten poetischen und prosaischen schönwissenschaftlichen Werken'' (Berlin 1841, 4 volumes) and later in

Joseph Kürschner Joseph Kürschner (20 September 1853, in Gotha – 29 July 1902, on a journey to Huben) was a German author and editor most often cited for his critical edition of classics from German literature. Biography At first engaged in mechanical en ...

's ''Deutscher Nationalliteratur'', volume 73 (hrsg. von Minor; Stuttgart 1883). His numerous mathematical writings include ''Anfangsgründe der Mathematik'' ("Foundations of Mathematics") (Göttingen 1758-69, 4 volumes; 6th edition 1800) and ''Geschichte der Mathematik'' ("History of Mathematics") (Göttingen 1796-1800, 4 volumes). ''Geschichte der Mathematik'' is considered an astute work, but lacks a comprehensive overview of all subsections of mathematics. He also translated many volumes of the Proceedings of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences into German, including all volumes of the Proceedings (''Handlingar'') between 1749 and 1781 and some volumes of New Proceedings (''Nya handlingar'') from 1784 to 1792. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in April 1789.

Publications

References

External links

* * *
''Theoria radicum in aequationibus''
–

Europeana Europeana is a web portal created by the European Union containing digitised cultural heritage collections of more than 3,000 institutions across Europe. It includes records of over 50 million cultural and scientific artefacts, brought togethe ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kastner, Abraham Gotthelf 1719 births 1800 deaths 18th-century German mathematicians German Lutherans German encyclopedists German historians of mathematics Writers from Leipzig People from the Electorate of Saxony Leipzig University alumni Leipzig University faculty University of Göttingen faculty Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society German male non-fiction writers 18th-century German male writers