Johan Samuel Augustin (March 31, 1715April 26, 1785) was a German-

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 ...

astronomical Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxi ...

writer and civil servant. Johann Samuel Augustin

Life

Johan Samuel Augustin was born in Oldenswort in

Eiderstedt Eiderstedt (german: Eiderstedt, ; da, Ejdersted; North Frisian: ''Ääderstää'') is a peninsula in the district of Nordfriesland in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Overview It is approximately 30 km in length and 15& ...

to an old Frisian family. When he was 2 years old his father, John. Sam. Augustin, died and was allowed by his uncle and legal guardian, Corniels Bischoff of Tetenbøl, to stay with his other uncle, Steffens Augustin, who also lived in Oldenswort. After leaving school he studied at the universities of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

and

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 ...

. He intended to study law, but he ended up accepting a job as an information clerk. At Friedrich Wiedeburg in Leipzig, he acquired a taste for mathematics and

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

, which he would later study with great zeal, and acquired a large library and an instrument collection (Catalogue ed. Of Erichsen). He also worked with a company involved in the release of the print ''Peder Paars'' by

Johan Frederik Clemens Johan Frederik Clemens (29 November 1749 – 5 November 1831) was a Pomeranian- Danish printmaker in etching. Early life and education Clemens was born in Gollnow (now Goleniów) near Stettin (now Szczecin) in Pomerania, to a poor Saxon weaver, J ...

. In 1750, he was employed as a secretary of the War Chancellery in Copenhagen, and was promoted to the First Secretary in 1757. The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences had him listed as a member in 1775. On March 21, 1781, he became a member of the Royal Danish Society of Homeland History. He died in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

unmarried as Councillor and was the first of many influential people to be buried at the

Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

in Copenhagen (Before his burial it was a graveyard for the poor, not for influential people). His portrait is in the catalog of his collection.

Works

In addition to some translations from German, he wrote: ''Briefe des Joaber Adaders aus der Sonne an Pyrophilus auf diet that Pyrophilaner'' (Published first in 1748). Moreover, as the 12th part of the Academy of Sciences writings: ''Om Forskjellen imellem Tycho Brahes og Picards Meridian af Uranienborg'' and ''Adskillige Steders Længde og Bredde i Norge''. In 1781 and 1782 he gave several lectures: ''Om Tycho Brahes skrevne Observationer og deres Skæbne'' and ''Om Vejrligets besynderlige Forandringer i Januar 1782'' though these were not published in print.

Sources

*Holger Ehrencron-Müller, Forfatterlexikon comprising Denmark, Norway and Iceland until 1814 *Lahde, Memorials, first booklet. *Charles Louis Tørrisen Bugge, Danish Frimureries History, Volume 1, Copenhagen, 1910. p 155 f

External links

Johan Samuel Augustin
his gravestone on Gravsted.dk {{DEFAULTSORT:Augustin, Johan Samuel 1715 births 1785 deaths Danish scientists Members of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters