Peter Crüger or Peter Krüger (20 October 1580 – 6 June 1639) was a

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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

, and teacher of

Johannes Hevelius Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish: * * * * * * * Some sources refer to Hevelius as German: * * * * *of the Royal Society * (in German also known as ''Hevel''; pl, Jan Heweliusz; – 28 January 1687) was a councillo ...

Life

Crüger was born in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was na ...

Duchy of Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establish ...

, a fief of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 * Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...

. In scientific documents published in Latin, his common name ''Krüger'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

for ''potter'' or ''innkeeper'') was Latinized and spelled ''Crüger''. (Compared to the frequency of the family name '' Krüger'', the name '' Crüger'' is relatively uncommon.) Crüger studied at the universities 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 ...

and

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

, graduating from Wittenberg in 1606. Among his teachers were

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 ...

and Johannes Kepler. He then moved to the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) in the

, where he worked for the rest of his life as a professor of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings ...

and mathematics at the '' Danziger Akademikum'' (Danzig Academy). As a philosopher and poet, Crüger was associated with the poet Johannes Plavius, who in his ''Institutio Poetica'' mentions Crüger in the opening letter. Crüger dedicated an extremely laudatory poem to Plavius, which appears in the preface to Plavius' ''Praecepta logicalia''. At the time of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

a number of

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is spli ...

ns took refuge in Danzig from the ravages of war in their towns, among them

Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius (german: Andreas Greif; 2 October 161616 July 1664) was a German poet and playwright. With his eloquent sonnets, which contains "The Suffering, Frailty of Life and the World", he is considered one of the most important Baroqu ...

, who, when he studied at the Danzig academy from 1634 to 1636, had Crüger as a teacher and was very much influenced by the famous mathematician and astronomer. Professors Crüger and Mochingert made Gryphius aware of the new style of German-language poetry. Gryphius wrote memorial verses, when in 1638 Crüger's child died. Years earlier Crüger had already developed a great friendship with

Martin Opitz Martin Opitz von Boberfeld (23 December 1597 – 20 August 1639) was a German poet, regarded as the greatest of that nation during his lifetime. Biography Opitz was born in Bunzlau (Bolesławiec) in Lower Silesia, in the Principality of S ...

, "father of German poetry", who also lived in Danzig. Crüger published treatises on many scientific subjects and contributed to the progress of trigonometry, geography and astronomy, and to the development of astronomical instruments. In the years 1627 to 1630, Crüger was the teacher of a teenager of the Hewelke family who would become known later as

, the astronomer. After Hevelius had returned to Danzig in 1634, the dying Crüger appealed to him to pursue astronomy. Hevelius gratefully mentions Crüger in his ''Machina coelestis''.Hevelius, Johannes (1673)
''Machina coelestis'', vol. 1
p. 37 . He died in Danzig. The crater Crüger 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 ...

is named after him.

Notes

References

External links

''Peter Krüger, a pioneer of trigonometry''

* ttp://www.niarts.de/plavius/lyrikplavius3.html Gelegenheitsdichtung in Danzig
Biography of ''Peter Krüger (1580-1639)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crueger, Peter 1580 births 1639 deaths 17th-century German mathematicians German poets 17th-century German astronomers Scientists from Königsberg People from the Duchy of Prussia German scientific instrument makers University of Königsberg alumni Leipzig University alumni University of Wittenberg alumni German male poets 17th-century German male writers

Life

See also

Notes

References

External links