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 a ...

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 A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

. He is best known for his discovery of previously unknown texts in the Archimedes Palimpsest, 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, postulat ...

'' that

T. L. Heath Sir Thomas Little Heath (; 5 October 1861 – 16 March 1940) was a British civil servant, mathematician, classical scholar, historian of ancient Greek mathematics, translator, and mountaineer. He was educated at Clifton College. Heath transla ...

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 canoni ...

''.

Early life and education

Heiberg was born in

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

, 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 Max Henius (June 16, 1859 – November 15, 1935) was a Danish-American biochemist who specialized in the fermentation processes. Max Henius co-founded the American Academy of Brewing in Chicago. Background Henius was born in Aalborg, Denmark ...

(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 ''l ...

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 clo ...

. 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 {{Infobox organization , name = The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters , full_name = , native_name = Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab , native_name_lang = , logo = Royal ...

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 ...

(1880 and 1912),

Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Wikt:Εὐκλείδης, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements'' trea ...

(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 Serenus may refer to: *Saint Serenus the Gardener (Sirenatus, Cerneuf), also known as Serenus of Sirmium *Saint Serenus of Alexandria (died 202 AD), Egyptian martyr *Serenus Sammonicus Quintus Serenus Sammonicus (died 212) was a Roman savant an ...

(1896),

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

(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 Greece, Greek mathematician and engineer who was active in his native city of Alexandria, Roman Egy ...

(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 Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

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 ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

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&nb ...

and

ultraviolet light Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...

. The Archimedes Palimpsest is currently stored at the

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Personal life

On 6 April 1879, he was married to Cathrine Asmussen (7 October 1856 - 25 August 1929), daughter of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

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 A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

''. He was also painted by

Harald Slott-Møller Harald Slott-Møller (17 August 1864 – 20 October 1937) was a Danish painter and ceramist. Together with his wife, the painter Agnes Slott-Møller, he was a founding member of Den Frie Udstilling (The Free Exhibition). Early life Born in Cope ...

(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 The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific me ...

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