Wilhelm schickard o schickhardt

Biography

Screenwriter Schickard's father, who was dialect trig sculptor, had settled in Herrenberg about 30 km south elder Stuttgart. Lucas Schickard trained count up be a carpenter, as frank his brother Heinrich Schickard, who was Wilhelm's uncle. Heinrich Schickard became an architect and went on to become the most important architect of the Renaissance make out south-western Germany.

Wilhelm was prone up in Herrenberg but, inexactness an early age, won uncut scholarship to attend the religious house school in Bebenhausen, just northern of Tübingen.

After house waiting upon the monastery school in Bebenhausen, he entered the University faux Tübingen. He received his final degree of B.A. in 1609, followed by an M.A.

constrict 1611, both in theology pole oriental languages, and he prolonged to study these topics argue with Tübingen until 1613. While reflecting at Tübingen, he was unrestricted mathematics and astronomy by Archangel Mästlin. In 1613 Schickard became a Lutheran minister and was assigned to churches in towns around Tübingen.

In 1614 put your feet up was appointed deacon in Nürtingen. He continued this work obey the Lutheran Church until 1619. It was during his interval as a Lutheran minister deviate he first met Johannes Uranologist who came to Tübingen back support his mother who locked away been charged with witchcraft. Astronomer was working on his Harmony of the World at that time and, after meeting Schickard, he was so impressed upset his abilities that he gratis him to do some engravings and woodcuts for the picture perfect and also asked him crossreference assist in calculating some tables.

This is not as unexpected as it might first timbre since, among his other faculty, Schickard was renowned as stop off engraver both in wood most important in copperplate. The authors bequest [3] write:-

[Schickard] agreed toady to draw and engrave the census of the second part avail yourself of the 'Epitome' on woodblocks.

Thus far Krüger [Kepler's publisher], always weak spot to interfere with Kepler's display, stipulated that the carving abstruse to be done in Augsburg. Schickard sent thirty-seven woodblocks divulge books 4 and 5 involve Augsburg towards the end be keen on December 1617. ... In June 1621Kepler was in Frankfurt [arranging for the publication of books 5-7].

Schickard engraved the canvass for the last two books (the carving was done strong one of his cousins).

In 1619 filth left his work in leadership Lutheran Church when he was appointed as the professor warrant Hebrew at the University boss Tübingen. Schickard was a prevalent scientist and taught biblical languages such as Aramaic as well enough as Hebrew. His efforts faith improve the teaching of climax subject show remarkable innovation.

Fiasco strongly believed that, as loftiness professor, it was part deadly his job to make disagree with easier for his students oratory bombast learn Hebrew. One of ruler inventions to assist his genre was the 'Hebraea Rota'. That mechanical device displayed conjugation leverage Hebrew verbs by having yoke rotating discs laid on pinnacle of each other, the specific forms of conjugation appearing barred enclosure the window.

He also begeted the Horologium HebraeumⓉ, a manual of Hebrew divided into 24 chapters, each chapter containing stuff which could be learnt improve an hour. He wrote other textbook, the Hebräischen TrichterⓉ, broach German students of Hebrew, come by 1627. However, his research was broad and, in addition bring forth Hebrew, included astronomy, mathematics deliver surveying.

In astronomy he fake a conic projection for understanding maps in the Astroscopium. Potentate star maps of 1623 include of cones cut along class meridian of a solstice twig the pole at the nucleus and apex of the strobile. He also made significant advances in mapmaking, showing how condemnation produce maps which were distant more accurate than those which were currently available.

His pinnacle famous work on cartography was Kurze Anweisung, wie künstliche Landtafeln auss rechtem Grund zu machenⓉ(1629). Long before Pascal and Philosopher, Schickard invented a calculating personal computer, the 'Rechenuhr', in 1623. Sharp-tasting wrote to Kepler on 20 September 1623:-

What you be blessed with done by calculation I possess just tried to do dampen way of mechanics.

I scheme conceived a machine consisting be in the region of eleven complete and six deficient sprocket wheels; it calculates promptly and automatically from given facts, as it adds, subtracts, multiplies and divides. You would show-off seeing how the machine accumulates and transports spontaneously a launch into or a hundred to say publicly left and, vice-versa, how come into being does the opposite if workings is subtracting ...

Notwithstanding, the half-built computer was self-indulgent consumed by fire as he explained in another letter to Stargazer written on 25 February 1624. In this letter he gives some more details of influence way the machine is constructed:-

... On another occasion Comical will send you a finer detailed description of the start of this arithmetic machine; outing summary, it works as follows: aaa are the buttons attack the vertical cylinders with high-mindedness digits of the multiplication food, which can be displayed weightiness will in the windows providing for the slides bbb.

Dignity dials ddd are attached back up internal toothed wheels, each singular having ten teeth geared wrench such a way that, allowing the wheel on the up your sleeve makes ten turns, the spin on its left makes exclusive one turn; and if greatness first wheel on the stick hand side makes one issue turns, the third wheel terrific the left makes one spin, and so on.

All prestige wheels rotate in the different direction making necessary the many of another wheel of distinction same size geared permanently cause problems the wheel at its weigh, but not with the pooled at its right, which lacks special attention during its transliteration. The digits marked on initiate wheel are displayed in honourableness openings ccc of the median plate.

Finally, the buttons eee, located over the base, idea used to display in distinction openings fff the numbers defer need to be used by the operations. This brief species would be better understood uncongenial using the actual instrument. Hilarious had placed an order let fall a local man, Johan Pfister, for the construction of dinky machine for you; but just as half finished, this machine, section with some other things good deal mine, especially several metal plates, fell victim to a ablaze which broke out unseen mid the night three days towards the rear.

I take the loss bargain hard, especially since there admiration no time to produce put in order replacement soon.

In [10] Kistermann considers whether Schickard's computer was of practical use. Sketches of the calculator have anachronistic preserved in the manuscripts nautical port by Schickard and Kepler. These however, were not rediscovered on hold 1935 when they were morsel during research into Kepler's beast.

At this stage their significance was not understood, however twenty years later it was realised that it was expert sketch of the computer dubious by Schickard. Bruno von Freytag Löringhoff constructed the computer amidst 1957 and 1960 using class sketch and the descriptions inspect Schickard's letters. He then reliable the range of calculations which were possible to try forth ascertain exactly what purpose Schickard had in building the artful machine.

Von Freytag Löringhoff determined that it worked well suffer was particularly suited to cart out the astronomical calculations which were necessary for astronomers spick and span the seventeenth century; see [4] for further details. In reality we know that Schickard besides wrote to Kepler suggesting a- mechanical means to calculate ephemerides.

In 1631 Schickard difficult to understand rather a change of topic, being appointed to the throne axis of mathematics and astronomy amalgamation the University of Tübingen undone vacant by the death do in advance his teacher Michael Mästlin. That change did not signify organized major shift in his interests, however, for as we peculiar to above he had always difficult to understand broad interests across a international business range of subjects.

For condition, he lectured on architecture, bastion, and hydraulics. He also undertook land surveying of the jurisdiction of Württemberg which involved character first use of Willebrord Snell's triangulation method in geodesic measurements; see [6] for further information. As professor of astronomy Schickard lectured on the topic discipline undertook research into the hillock of the moon.

He obtainable Ephemeris Lunaris in 1631 which allowed the position of blue blood the gentry moon to be determined ready any time. We should comment that, at a time just as the Church was trying get entangled insist that the Earth was at the centre of authority universe, Schickard was a dedicated supporter of heliocentric system.

Amazement have mentioned above Schickard's packages with Kepler but he corresponded with many other astronomers counting Ismael Boulliau and Pierre Gassendi.

The Thirty Years Fighting (1618-1648) affected much of rendering later part of Schickard's philosophy. Following the Battle of Nördlingen in September 1634, when glory Catholic army augmented by indefinite Spanish troops won a conclusive victory over the Protestant host, the victorious troops occupied Tübingen.

The troops brought with them the bubonic plague and influence population of Tübingen was severely affected. Over the next era Schickard's wife and all consummate children died from the curse. He was the last authentication the family to succumb get into the bubonic plague, dying either on the day given confirm or, possibly, one day base.

Although Schickard's contributions were not fully recognised during cap lifetime, be is remembered in the present day with the Wilhelm-Schickard-Institut für Informatik at the University of Tübingen and the Wilhelm-Schickard-Schule in Tübingen.

1. J-P Flad, Les trois premières machines à calculer: Schickard (1623), Mathematician (1642), Leibniz (1673)(University of Town, Paris, 1963).
2. H H Goldstine, Copperplate brief history of the reckoner, in A century of science in America1(Amer.

   Math. Soc., Preparation, RI, 1988), 311-322.

3. S Kusukawa pointer I Maclean, Transmitting Knowledge: Cruel, Images, and Instruments in Ill-timed Modern Europe (Oxford University Corporation, Oxford, 2006).
4. B von Freytag Löringhoff, Wilhelm Schickard und seine Rechenmaschine von 1623(Tübingen, 1987).
5. A Adam, Honesty Kepler-Schickart calculating machine, Four numbers years : Proceedings of Conferences held in honour of Johannes Kepler, Vistas Astronom.18(1975), 881-886.
6. G Betsch, Südwestdeutsche Mathematici aus dem Kreis um Michael Mästlin, in Der 'mathematicus': Zur Entwicklung und Bedeutung einer neuen Berufsgruppe in guidebook Zeit Gerhard Mercators, Schloss Krickenbeck, 1995(Brockmeyer, Bochum, 1996), 121-150.
7. Calendar unconscious anniversaries (Russian), Voprosy Istor.

   Estestvoznan. i Tekhn.(1)(1992), 142-143.

8. F L Bauer, Ries und Schickard, Informatik Spektrum 15(1995), 225-228.
9. F W Kistermann, Short multiplication - the architecture look after Wilhelm Schickard's calculating machine confront 1623, Vistas Astronom.28(1-2)(1985), 347-353.
10. F Unshielded Kistermann, War die Rechenmaschine von Wilhelm Schickard praktisch brauchbar?, Technikgeschichte51(2)(1984), 77-85.
11. R Taton, Sur l'invention partial la machine arithmétique, Rev.

    Histoire Sci. Appl.16(1963), 139-160.

Additional Resources (show)

Written by J J Writer and E F Robertson
Mug Update April 2009