The Atlas Coelestis (1742) of Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr

Introduction

Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr (also spelled Doppelmair, Doppelmaier or Doppelmayer) was the son of the Nuremberg merchant Johann Siegmund Doppelmayr (1641-1686) and was born on 27 September 1677 (many early sources incorrectly give his year of birth as 1671). His father had an interest in applied physics and was one of the first to design a vertical vacuum air pump in Nuremberg.

Doppelmayr enrolled at the �gidiengymnasium in 1689 and after completing his studies in 1696 enrolled at the nearby university of Altdorf to study law which he completed in 1698 with a dissertation on the Sun. He then attended lectures on mathematics and natural philosophy by Johann Christoph Sturm (1635-1703) which he completed in 1699 with his dissertation De visionis sensu nobilissimo, ex camerae obscurae tenebris illustrato. He continued his studies on physics and mathematics at the university of Halle where he also learned French and Italian.

In September 1700, Doppelmayr travelled to Berlin and from there, through Lower Saxony, to Holland where he visited Franeker and Amsterdam on his way to Utrecht where he stayed for a couple of months to continue his studies on physics and mathematics and to master the English language.

In April 1701, Doppelmayr went to Leiden where he stayed in the house of the astronomy professor Lothar Zumbach von Koesfeld and learned (probably in the Musschenbroek workshop) how to grind and figure telescope lenses. He then travelled to Rotterdam and in May to England where he visited Oxford and London.

After returning to Holland in the end of 1701, Doppelmayr spent another five months in Leiden, where he followed astronomy lessons from Lothar Zumbach von Koesfeld. After visiting Utrecht, Deventer, Osnabr�ck, Hannover, Kassel, Marburg, Gie�en, Wetzlar and Frankfurt, Doppelmayr returned to Nuremberg in August 1702 and was appointed professor of mathematics at the �gidiengymnasium in 1704, a position that he would hold until his death.

In February 1716, Doppelmayr married Susanna Maria Kellner (1697-1728) with whom he had four children (three of which died shortly after their birth).

In 1723, he received an invitation to become the professor of mechanics at the Academy of St. Petersburg, but Doppelmayr declined and suggested that they should ask the Swiss mathematician Nikolaus Bernouilli for this position.

Doppelmayr wrote on astronomy, geography, cartography, spherical trigonometry, sundials and mathematical instruments. He often collaborated with the cartographer Johann Baptist Homann (1664-1724), a former Dominican monk from Oberkammlach in Schwabia who in 1688 had settled in Nuremberg and became a map engraver for the publishing firms of Jacob von Sandrart and David Funck. In 1702, Homann founded an influential cartographic publishing firm that after his death was continued by his son Johann Christoph Homann (1703-1730) and after the latter’s death by his friend Johann Michael Franz (1700-1761) and his stepsister’s husband Johann Georg Ebersberger (1695-1760) under the name “Hom�nnische Erben”. The publishing firm remained in business under different names until 1848.

Among Doppelmayr’s many students was Georg Friedrich Brander (1713-1783) from Regensburg, who settled in Augsburg in 1734 and in 1737 founded a renowned workshop for scientific instruments.

Doppelmayr was elected as a member of several scientific societies, including the Berlin Academy of Sciences, the Kaiserlich Leopoldinische Akademie der Naturforscher in Halle (1715), the Royal Society of London (on 6 December 1733, not in 1713 as mentioned in several sources) and the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1740).

Doppelmayr died on 1 December 1750 in Nuremberg, and many later sources claim that his death was caused by the fatal effects of a powerful electrical shock which he had received shortly before while experimenting with a battery of electric capacitors. Other sources, however, suggest that Doppelmayr’s electrical experiments were performed several years earlier and were not the cause of his death.

The lunar crater Doppelmayer (latitude 28.5� south and longitude 41.4� west), the nearby rille Rimae Doppelmayer (latitude 25.9� south and longitude 45.1� west) and the minor planet 12622 Doppelmayr are named in his honour.

Doppelmayr’s astronomical publications

Doppelmayr was responsible for the edition and translation of several important works in astronomy, geography and scientific instrument making.

17 ?? – German translation of Sanson’s Introduction � la G�ographie (Paris, 1699).

– German translation of Sanson’s (Paris, 1699). 17 ?? – German translation of the L’usage des globes c�lestes et terrestres, et des sph�res (Paris, 1699) by Nicholas Bion.

– German translation of the (Paris, 1699) by Nicholas Bion. 1705 – Astronomia Carolina, Nova Theoria Motuum Coelestium, secundum optimas Observationes & rationi maxime consentanea fundamenta Artis [...] cum exactis & facillimis ad hanc Tabulis & Praeceptis pro calculo Eclipsium &c. , a Latin translation of the Astronomia Carolina: A New Theorie of the Cœlestial Motions (London, 1665) of Thomas Streete.

, a Latin translation of the (London, 1665) of Thomas Streete. 1708 – Neu-vermehrte Welperische Gnomonica oder gr�ndlicher Unterricht und Beschreibung wie man alle regulare Sonnen-Uhren auf ebenen Orten leichtlich aufreissen , an expanded version of a treatise on sundials first published by Eberhard Welper in 1625 (with subsequent additions by Johann Christoph Sturm in 1672 and 1681) to which Doppelmayr added a German translation of William Durham’s The Artificial Clock-Maker (London, 1696) – further editions were published in 1719, 1729 and 1786.

, an expanded version of a treatise on sundials first published by Eberhard Welper in 1625 (with subsequent additions by Johann Christoph Sturm in 1672 and 1681) to which Doppelmayr added a German translation of William Durham’s (London, 1696) – further editions were published in 1719, 1729 and 1786. 1712 – Neu-er�ffnete mathematische Werck-Schule Nicolai Bion , a German translation of the Trait� de la construction et des principaux usages des instrumens de math�matiques (Paris, 1709) by Nicolas Bion – further expanded editions were published in 1717, 1721, 1726, 1741 and 1765.

, a German translation of the (Paris, 1709) by Nicolas Bion – further expanded editions were published in 1717, 1721, 1726, 1741 and 1765. 1713 – Johannes Wilkins, des f�rtrefflichen Englischen Bischoffs zu Chester Vertheidigter Copernicus, oder Curioser und gr�ndlicher Bewei� der Copernicanischen Grunds�tze , a German translation of the Discovery of a new Worlde in the Moone (London, 1638) by John Wilkins.

, a German translation of the (London, 1638) by John Wilkins. 1730 – Historische Nachricht von den N�rnbergischen Mathematicis und K�nstlern, welche fast von dreyen Seculis her durch ihre Schriften und Kunst-Bem�hungen die Mathematic und mehrere K�nste in N�rnberg vor andern trefflich bef�rdert und sich um solche sehr wohl verdient gemacht zu einem guten Exempel, und zur weitern r�hmlichen Nachahmung , containing biographical information on 360 mathematicians and instrument makers of Nuremberg chronologically arranged from the 15th century to the early 18th century.

, containing biographical information on 360 mathematicians and instrument makers of Nuremberg chronologically arranged from the 15th century to the early 18th century. 1742 – Atlas Coelestis (see below).

Together with Johann Georg Puschner (1680-1749), a Nuremberg instrument maker and copper engraver, Doppelmayr published terrestrial and celestial globe pairs in 1728 (32 cm diameter), 1730 (20 cm diameter) and 1736 (10 cm diameter). The celestial globes were drawn for the epoch 1731.0, the same epoch which he used for the celestial charts in the Atlas Coelestis (plates 16-25).

These globes were re-issued in the 1750’s by Puschner’s son and, again, in the 1790’s, when the copper plates passed into the hands of the Nuremberg publisher Wolfgang Paul Jenig (1743-1805). Although the terrestrial globes were updated in these later re-issues, the celestial globes were left unchanged.

The Atlas Coelestis Doppelmayr’s best-known astronomical work is his Atlas Coelestis in quo Mundus Spectabilis et in eodem Stellarum omnium Phoenomena notabilia, circa ipsarum Lumen, Figuram, Faciem, Motum, Eclipses, Occultationes, Transitus, Magnitudines, Distantias, aliaque secundum Nic. Copernici et ex parte Tychonis de Brahe Hipothesin. Nostri intuitu, specialiter, respectu vero ad apparentias planetarum indagatu possibiles e planetis primariis, et e luna habito, generaliter e celeberrimorum astronomorum observationibus graphice descripta exhibentur, cum tabulis majoribus XXX, published in 1742 by the heirs of Homann in Nuremberg. In this atlas, Doppelmayr collected most of the astronomical and cosmographical plates which he had prepared over the years for the Homann publishing firm and which had appeared in several of their atlases. These earlier atlases allow us to infer approximate dates for the design and preparation of many of Doppelmayr’s cosmographical plates. The earliest ones are plates 2 and 11 as they were already included in Homann’s first atlas, the Neuer Atlas bestehend in auserlesenen und allerneusten Land-Charten ueber die gantze Welt, und zwar erstlich nach Astronomischer Betrachtung der Bewegung des Himmels in dem Systemate Copernico-Hugeniano, dann auch nach der n�turlichen Beschaffenheit und geographischen Eintheilung der mit Wasser umgebenen allgemeinen Erd-Kugeln in ihre besondere Monarchien, Koenigreiche, Staaten und Laender (Nuremberg, 1707). Plates 3 and 7 to 10 were first published in Homann’s Atlas von hundert Charten (Nuremberg, 1712), whereas plates 1, 4 and 15 to 25 can be dated between 1716 and 1724 as they were not included in Homann’s Grossen Atlas (Nuremberg, 1716), but are mentioned in Hager’s list of plates sold by Homann at his death in 1724. The plates depicting the constellations (nrs. 16 to 25) were probably prepared and engraved in the early 1720’s as the Atlas Portatilis Coelestis, oder compendiose Vorstellung des gantzen Welt-geb�udes, in den Anfangs-grunden der wahren Astronomie (1723) of Johann Leonard Rost refers to a set of celestial hemispheres drawn by Doppelmayr. The choice and the style of the constellation figures on these plates is based on the Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia (Danzig, 1687) of the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius, who also avoided the use of Bayer’s Greek letters for identifying the individual stars, and they were clearly executed before the publication of John Flamsteed’s star catalogue (London, 1725) and star atlas (London, 1729). According to Sandler (1890), the other plates (nrs. 6, 12 to 14 and 26 to 30) date from after 1735. The cometary plates (nrs. 26 to 28) can be dated to 1740 or slightly later.

Description of the plates of the Atlas Coelestis (1742)

The following table gives a summary description of the cosmographical plates of the Atlas Coelestis.

The entire Doppelmayr atlas and the individual plates can also be viewed in detail on the Gallica web site of the Biblioth�que nationale de France.

Plates included in later editions of the Atlas Coelestis

Later editions of the Doppelmayr atlas by the same publisher bear the slightly altered title Atlas novus coelestis, in quo mundus spectabilis, et in eodem tam errantium quam inerrantium stellarum phoenomena notabilia [...] secundum Nic. Copernici et ex parte Tychonis de Brahe hypothesin, nostri intuitu, specialiter, respectu vero ad apparentias planetarum indagatu possibiles e planetis primariis et e luna habito, generaliter, e celeberrimorum astronomorum observationibus graphice descripta exhibentur. Although the year of publication is still given as 1742 on the title page, these editions often contain additional plates of later date.

The following additional plates are known:

References

Adelung, Johann Christoph, “Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr”, Fortsetzung und Erg�nzungen zu Christian Gottlieb J�chers allgemeinem Gelehrten-Lexicon, worin die Schriftsteller aller St�nde nach ihren vornehmsten Lebensumst�nden und Schriften beschrieben werden (Leipzig: Johann Friedrich Gleditsch, 1787), vol. 2, cols. 742-744 [ not seen ].

(Leipzig: Johann Friedrich Gleditsch, 1787), vol. 2, cols. 742-744 [ ]. Cantor, Max, “Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr”, in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1877), vol. 5, pp. 344-345 [ADB link].

(Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1877), vol. 5, pp. 344-345 [ADB link]. Dekker, Elly, Globes at Greenwich: A Catalogue of the Globes and Armillary Spheres in the National Maritime Museum (Oxford/Greenwich: Oxford University Press/National Maritime Museum, 1999), pp. 327-329.

(Oxford/Greenwich: Oxford University Press/National Maritime Museum, 1999), pp. 327-329. Dekker, Elly & van der Krogt, Peter C.J., Globes from the Western World (London: Zwemmer, 1993), pp. 88-99.

(London: Zwemmer, 1993), pp. 88-99. Diefenbacher, Michael, Heinz, Markus & Bach-Damaskinos, Ruth (eds.), “Auserlesene und allerneueste Landkarten”: Der Verlag Homann in N�rnberg 1702-1848 (Nuremberg: Stadtarchiv N�rnberg, 2002).

(Nuremberg: Stadtarchiv N�rnberg, 2002). Dolz, Wolfram, “Die “Geographische Universal-Zeig und Schlag-Uhr” von Johann Baptist Homann und die kleinen Globen von Sichelbarth und Doppelmayr als wichtige Bestandteile astronomischer Uhren des 18. Jahrhunderts”, Der Globusfreund: Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift f�r Globenkunde , 51/52 (2003/04 [2005]), 33-45.

, (2003/04 [2005]), 33-45. Eberle, Wilhelm, “Der N�rnberger Kartograph Johann Baptista Homann, zu seinem 200. Todestage. Ein Lebensbild”, Mitteilungen und Jahresberichte der geographischen Gesellschaft in N�rnberg , 3 (1923/24), ??? - ??? [ not seen ].

, (1923/24), - [ ]. Gaab, Hans, “Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr (1677-1750)”, in: W.R. Dick & J. Hamel (eds.), Beitr�ge zur Astronomiegeschichte: Band 4 (Frankfurt am Main: Harri Deutsch, 2001 [= Acta Historica Astronomiae , vol. 13]), pp. 46-99.

(Frankfurt am Main: Harri Deutsch, 2001 [= , vol. 13]), pp. 46-99. Gaab, Hans, “Die geografische Kunstuhr von Homann”, Regiomontanus Bote , 19 (2006), nr. 3, 25-31.

, (2006), nr. 3, 25-31. Hager, Johann Georg, Geographischer B�chersaal, zum Nutzen und Vergn�gen der Liebhaber der Geographie er�ffnet (Chemnitz: Johann David Stoe�els Erben, 1774), vol. 2, pp. 125- ??? [ not seen ].

(Chemnitz: Johann David Stoe�els Erben, 1774), vol. 2, pp. 125- [ ]. Hanle, A. & Mittelstaedt, O., “Basis Geographiae recentioris Astronomica”, Sterne und Weltraum , 19 (1980), 407-410.

, (1980), 407-410. Heinz, Markus, “A Research-Paper on the Copper-Plates of the Maps of J.B. Homann’s First World Atlas and a Method for Identifying Different Copper-Plates of Identical-Looking Maps”, Imago Mundi , 45 (1993), 45-58.

, (1993), 45-58. Heinz, Markus, “A Programme for Map Publishing: The Homann Firm in the Eighteenth Century”, Imago Mundi , 49 (1997), 104-115.

, (1997), 104-115. Heinz, Markus, Modell eines Werkskataloges des kartographischen Verlages Homann, Homanns Erben und Fembo in N�rnberg (1702-1848) (Vienna: Ph.D. dissertation University of Vienna, 2002), 2 vols. [ not seen ].

(Vienna: Ph.D. dissertation University of Vienna, 2002), 2 vols. [ ]. Meusel, Johann Georg, Lexikon der vom Jahr 1750 bis 1800 verstorbenen Teutschen Schriftsteller (Leipzig: Fleischer, 1802-1816), vol. 2, p. ??? [ not seen ].

(Leipzig: Fleischer, 1802-1816), vol. 2, p. [ ]. Pilz, Kurt, 600 Jahre Astronomie in N�rnberg (Nuremberg: Verlag Hans Carl, 1977), pp. 312-318.

(Nuremberg: Verlag Hans Carl, 1977), pp. 312-318. Poggendorff, Johann Christian, “Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr”, Biographisch-Literarisches Handw�rterbuch zur Geschichte der exacten Wissenschaften, enthaltend Nachweisungen �ber Lebensverh�ltnisse und Leistungen von Mathematikern, Astronomen, Physikern, Chemikern, Mineralogen, Geologen usw aller V�lker und Zeiten (Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1863), vol. 1, cols. 593-594.

(Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1863), vol. 1, cols. 593-594. Ruge, Sophus, “Aus der Sturm- und Drang-Periode der Geographie (Die �lteste geographische Gesellschaft und ihre Mittglieder)”, Zeitschrift f�r wissenschaftliche Geographie unter Mitber�cksichtigung des h�heren geographischen Unterrichts , 5 (1885), 249-260 & 355-364.

, (1885), 249-260 & 355-364. Sandler, Christian, “Johann Baptista Homann: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Kartographie”, Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft f�r Erdkunde zu Berlin , 21 (1886), 328-384 [DIGI Zeitschriften link] – reprinted in: Johann Baptista Homann, die hom�nnischen Erben, Matth�us Seutter und ihre Landkarten: Beitr�ge zur Geschichte der Kartographie (Amsterdam: Meridian Publishing Co., 1979), pp. 39-97.

, (1886), 328-384 [DIGI Zeitschriften link] – reprinted in: (Amsterdam: Meridian Publishing Co., 1979), pp. 39-97. Sandler, Christian, “Die hom�nnischen Erben, im Anschlu� an “Johann Baptista Homann” dargelegt”, Zeitschrift f�r wissenschaftliche Geographie unter Mitber�cksichtigung des h�heren geographischen Unterrichts , 7 (1890), 333-355 & 418-448 – reprinted in: Johann Baptista Homann, die hom�nnischen Erben, Matth�us Seutter und ihre Landkarten: Beitr�ge zur Geschichte der Kartographie (Amsterdam: Meridian Publishing Co., 1979), pp. 99-152; also reprinted as: Die Homannschen Erben (1724-1852) und ihre Landkarten: Das Leben und Wirken von Johann Georg Ebersperger (1695-1760) und Johann Michael Franz (1700-1761). Ein Handbuch (Bad Langensalza: Verlag Harald Rockstuhl, 2001).

, (1890), 333-355 & 418-448 – reprinted in: (Amsterdam: Meridian Publishing Co., 1979), pp. 99-152; also reprinted as: (Bad Langensalza: Verlag Harald Rockstuhl, 2001). Warner, Deborah Jean, The Sky Explored: Celestial Cartography 1500-1800 (New York/Amsterdam: Alan R. Liss/Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1979), pp. 64-67.

(New York/Amsterdam: Alan R. Liss/Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, 1979), pp. 64-67. Will, Georg Andreas, N�rnbergisches Gelehrten-Lexicon oder Beschreibung aller N�rnbergischen Gelehrten beyderley Geschlechtes nach Ihrem Leben, Verdiensten und Schrifften zur Erweiterung der gelehrten Geschichtskunde und Verbesserung vieler darinnen vorgefallenen Fehler aus den besten Quellen in alphabetischer Ordnung verfasset (Nuremberg: Lorenz Sch�pfel, 1755), vol. 1, pp. 287-290 & vol. 5 (1802), pp. 245-246.

(Nuremberg: Lorenz Sch�pfel, 1755), vol. 1, pp. 287-290 & vol. 5 (1802), pp. 245-246. Wilson, Curtis, “Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr”, in: C.C. Gillispie (ed.), Dictionary of Scientific Biography (New York: Charles Scribners & Sons, 1971), vol. 4, pp. 166-167.

(New York: Charles Scribners & Sons, 1971), vol. 4, pp. 166-167. Wi�ner, Adolf, “Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr”, in: Neue Deutsche Biographie (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1971), vol. 4, p. 76.

(Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1971), vol. 4, p. 76. Zinner, Ernst, Deutsche und niederl�ndische astronomische Instrumente des 11.-18. Jahrhunderts (Munich: C.H. Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1967), 2nd ed., pp. 28, 256-263, 292, 387-388, 408-409, 423, 475-476, 546 & 583.

Internet links

I gratefully acknowledge the help of Hans Gaab (Nuremberg), George Glazer (New York) and Markus Heinz (Berlin) for providing useful information and images.

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[last updated on 3 October 2006]