Maximilianus Hell (1720-1792) - Munin

eceived increasing support in Central Europe during the 1740s and 1750s, as a result of the
import of ideas from more westerly philosophes. However, in Austria this interest in natural
sciences was not yet blended with secularism and liberalism; that came later. Thus, Father
Hell’s research interests were initially in tune with both a pro-Catholic court and a ‘pro-
scientific’ Society of Jesus. Institutionalised astronomy saw a rapid development, with
foundation of new observatories throughout the ‘Austrian Province’ of the Jesuits around the
mid eighteenth century. However, when the Pope in the summer of 1773 dissolved the
Society of Jesus, this entailed a reorganisation of the infrastructure for teaching and research
in the region. Hell kept his position as court astronomer, but became a man of conflicting
loyalties and strategies. Particularly during Joseph II’s reign (1780-1790), he came under
fierce attack from freemasons and other representatives of the radical Enlightenment. In this
situation, he did what he could to retain the Jesuit heritage. He cooperated closely with the
conservative bishop of Agria (Eger, Erlau) in establishing a new observatory there; he lobbied
for the preservation of observatories that once had been run by the Jesuits; he argued fiercely
against the state-imposed use of German, instead of Latin, for teaching and research in the
Habsburg lands. The biographical essay not only discusses this political framework, it also
presents a survey of astronomical observatories and agents within the entire ‘Austrian
Province’ of the Society of Jesus, before and after the watershed of 1773. It further presents
information on the various branches of research that Father Hell engaged in beyond his core
subject of astronomy. ‘Mesmerism’ constitutes one such branch, studies of the Magyar
nation’s language and history, another.
Part II, The Eighteenth-Century Transits of Venus and the Role of Maximilianus Hell:
Nordic and Central-European Contexts, is divided into three chapters. Chapter II.1 on The
1761 Transit of Venus and the Role of Father Hell is devoted to an explanation of the
phenomenon and its use in efforts to determine the scale of the solar system. It further
demonstrates how Hell, mainly thanks to his Jesuit network, was capable to deliver an
important contribution to the Venus transit project of 1761, during which year he stayed in
Vienna. Chapter II.2 on The Nordic Countries and the Transits of Venus, 1761 and 1769
provides a survey of the history of astronomy in eighteenth-century Sweden, Russia and
Denmark-Norway. The participation of these entities in the international Venus transit
projects of the 1760s are a recurring theme. By way of a comparative perspective, contrasts
between the three states are singled out. Sweden is seen to have been firmly integrated in the
international project in both 1761 and 1769, in no small measure due to the talents of Pehr
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