Regiomontanus
Mathematician, astronomer
* 6.6.1436, Königsberg (near Coburg in Bavoria)
† 6.7.1476, Rome
He was born 6 July1436 in Königsberg.
He studied at the university in Leipzig, since1451 he studied in Vienna, where he became a pupil and friend of well-known astronomer Georg von Peurbach. After short residence in Italy (probably in Padov), he came back to Vienna. In 1467, he accepted the invitation from Ostrihom archbishop and chancellor Jan Vitez, to become a mathematic and astronomy professor on Academia Istropolitae, on university founded by Matthias Corvinus. He lived in Hungary, especially in Bratilslava, Ostrihom and Budin until 1471, when he decided to settle in Nuremberg, where he founded astronomic observatory including workshop for manufacturing astronomic machines and printer, which was one of the first in Europe In 1475 he went to Rome to work with Pope Sixtus IV on calendar reform, where he died mysteriously, month after his fortieth birthday.
He was one of the most important astronomers before Copernicus era. Except for observations, he used to construct astronomic machines, but mainly astronomic tables which were exceptionally important for their calculability in astronomy and navigation. (Christopher Columbus used his tables on his trips to America.) In the case of assembling the tables he was interested in mathematic and trigonometry. His work De triangulis omnimodus libri quinque (five books about different tringels), is considered as the beginning of separated trigonometry – before it was part of astrology. Regiomontanus constructed a few of very expanded and used-for-a-long-time trigonometric tables, among them tables tangens and exceptionally detailed tables sinus. He engaged in research into questions of algebra (solution of equation, operations with extractions) and the number theory, he was an inventor of fifth perfect number 33 550 336. Remarkable are his translation and commentaries to Ptoleiman’s Almagest (this work interlock on works of his teacher Peuerbach), then translation and edition of different ancient and contemporary astronomic and mathematical work.
He died 6 July 1476 in Rome.
It is obvious that in those days a larger group of mathematics focused on astronomy. I think that his share in the evolution of trigonometry as well as in the tables with sinus and tangens deserves to be mentioned. Personally, I find the fact that he had Slovak origin quite surprising.