Maximilianus Hell (1720-1792) - Munin

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thanks to its lengthy appendices containing contributions to both theoretical and practical astronomy. It was within the framework of these appendices that most of Hell’s works on the transits of Venus were issued. In keeping with the aim of investigating the contributions of Father Hell in a Central- European and Nordic context, contemporaneous monographs and periodicals from several countries have been investigated. Relevant volumes of the official periodicals of various scientific bodies, namely the Royal Swedish Academy, the Royal Danish Society of Sciences, the French Royal Academy of Sciences, the Göttingen Society of Sciences, The Royal Society in Britain, the Academy of Sciences in Berlin and the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences have been either leafed or scrolled through. 87 Furthermore, various Latin dissertations submitted to the universities of Åbo (Turku) and Copenhagen have been investigated. The Göttingische Anzeigen von Gelehrten Sachen, the Journal encyclopédique and Journal des Sçavans, as well as some contemporaneous newspapers published in Denmark and Norway have also been consulted, albeit not as systematically as the Ephemerides Astronomicae. The journal-like Receuils and Cahiers of Jean Bernoulli III in Berlin, and to a lesser degree his Lettres Astronomiques, Sammlung von kurzer Reisebeschreibungen and Archiv zur neuern Geschichte, have likewise been consulted. The chief manuscript sources have been found at the Institut für Astronomie der Universität Wien (Wiener Universitätssternwarte, hereafter WUS) and at the Archiv der Universität Wien; at Riksarkivet (hereafter RA) and Nasjonalbiblioteket in Oslo; at the archive of Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab (KDVS), as well as at Kongelige Bibliotek (KB) and Rigsarkivet (RA) in Copenhagen; at Centrum för Vetenskapshistoria vid Kungl. Veten- skapsakademien (CVH) in Stockholm; at Universitätsbibliothek Basel (UB Basel); and at Rossiiskaia Akademiia Nauk (RAN) in St. Petersburg. Last but not least, I have profited greatly from archival research conducted by Nils Voje Johansen in various archives in Scandinavia; from similar research undertaken by Johan Stén in Sweden, Finland and beyond; and from the harvest that Magda Vargha has made in various Hungarian archives. All three have generously placed photocopies from their archival researches at my disposal. 87 The digitisation services of numerous actors, such as Google Books; Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica); Göttingen Digitalisierungszentrum; or the “Aufklärung” project of the Universitätsbibliothek Bielefeld, to name but a few, have served as invaluable supplements to traditional library visits to various institutions in England (Oxford), Denmark (Copenhagen), Sweden (Stockholm), Norway (Tromsø, Trondheim, Oslo), Austria (Vienna) and Russia (Saint Petersburg). - 40 -
The fate of the manuscripts of Maximilianus Hell merits particular consideration. As explained elsewhere in this thesis, Hell had plans for a grand work on his Vardø expedition, the three-volume Expeditio litteraria ad Polum arcticum. Most parts of this work were never published, but nothing suggests he destroyed the manuscripts or asked others to do so. Furthermore, his network of correspondents was wide and diverse, and like any astronomer seriously engaged in practical astronomy, he certainly cherished the letters he received. After his death in 1792, however, the manuscript collections of Hell passed onto private hands. The prominent French astronomer Lalande, in his Bibliographie astronomique (Paris 1803), explains that he had been in contact with Hell’s successor at the Vienna University Observatory, Franciscus de Paula Triesnecker, to learn about the fate of the Expeditio litteraria. Triesnecker answered by letter that he had “been unable to even look at the manuscripts”, for 88 the inheritors have denied him this satisfaction: this is another reason to regret the loss of Father Hell. Perhaps Curiosity, which publishes what Jealousy has been able to hide away, will one day supply us with the publication of these manuscripts. Jealousy prevailed beyond the lifetime of both Lalande and Triesnecker. In the copy of the Copenhagen edition of the Venus transit report from Vardø that is kept at the Vienna University Observatory, an unknown hand has scribbled (in German) that: 89 After the death of Hell, a Jesuit from Augsburg, by the name Rauscher, is said to have taken his many manuscripts – in particular the Expeditio litteraria ad Polum arcticum – to Mogilev, a place in Russia. In the 1780s and 90s, the Jesuit order was suppressed in all Catholic countries, but it survived in the Russia of Catherine the Great. Mogilev was an important centre of the Jesuit order in 88 Lalande 1803, p. 722: “M. Triesnecker, habile astronome de Vienne, m’écrit qu’il n’a pu parvenir à voir même les manuscrits; les héritiers lui ont refusé cette satisfaction: c’est un nouveau motif de regrets sur la perte du P. Hell. Peut-être que l’intérêt, qui publie ce que la jalousie aurait pu recéler, nous procurera la publication de ces manuscrits.” 89 Hell 1770a1 (WUS Vienna), note on the inside of the back cover: “Nach den Ende des Hell soll ein Augsburger Jesuit Nahmens Rauscher seine viele Handschriften besonders die Expeditio litteraria ad polum Arcticum nach Mohilew gebracht haben, welches in Ruslandt lieget.” The entire copy has been digitised by staff at the Vienna University Observatory. The note is found on p. 101 of the pdf document on the internet (cf. http://www.univie.ac.at/hwastro/, accessed 3 March 2011). The same copy is also unique in its insertion of several illustration at the end. These were not found in the Copenhagen edition, but were included at a later date. - 41 -
Page 3: Maximilianus Hell (1720-1792) and t
Page 6 and 7: PART II The Eighteenth-Century Tran
Page 8 and 9: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study of the
Page 11 and 12: Part I INTRODUCTION AND BIOGRAPHICA
Page 13 and 14: themes with concluding remarks at t
Page 15 and 16: to take the modern borders as their
Page 17 and 18: A final ambition of this study is m
Page 19 and 20: Society of Jesus; 3) He was freed f
Page 21 and 22: much more cursory, at times even do
Page 23 and 24: called ‘German Assistancy’, tha
Page 25 and 26: Kremsmünster Observatory, Father A
Page 27 and 28: deliver adjustments of the current
Page 29 and 30: Sven Widmalm investigates the histo
Page 31 and 32: Lomonosov and Rumovskii. 33 A more
Page 33 and 34: his entire printed œuvre in additi
Page 35 and 36: this challenge Pinzger tried to mee
Page 37 and 38: More recent, source-based contribut
Page 39 and 40: Pieces for the puzzle of an overall
Page 41 and 42: comparative perspective is a means
Page 43 and 44: McClellan maintains that the widesp
Page 45 and 46: discoveries, the Protestant movemen
Page 47 and 48: under the name Novi Commentarii) un
Page 49: works or not are equally problemati
Page 53 and 54: Saint Petersburg, Anders Planman in
Page 55 and 56: I.2 MAXIMILIANUS HELL SJ (1720-1792
Page 57 and 58: stations in his life, information f
Page 59 and 60: Hell’s journal Ephemerides Astron
Page 61 and 62: freemasonry, religious toleration a
Page 63 and 64: family, and adds that he was nation
Page 65 and 66: Jesuits professors were teaching an
Page 67 and 68: activity until the suppression of t
Page 69 and 70: onibus et problematibus aucta (‘J
Page 71 and 72: Jesuit University in Tyrnavia. 48 T
Page 73 and 74: - 63 -
Page 75 and 76: etween 1579 and 1606 was re-opened.
Page 77 and 78: from 1780). As for timing, in Janua
Page 79 and 80: the university building. In a lette
Page 81 and 82: This task, to make “daily observa
Page 83 and 84: If Hell edited the official calenda
Page 85 and 86: You spent more of Your time on obse
Page 87 and 88: demonstrate how the Roman-Catholic
Page 89 and 90: Even though electromagnetism in the
Page 91 and 92: international arena. A new importan
Page 93 and 94: - 83 -
Page 95 and 96: Franz appears to have devoted most
Page 97 and 98: Apart from Halloy, who was born in
Page 99 and 100: attach numerous other observations
Page 101 and 102:
The examples of Josephus Mayr and N
Page 103 and 104:
Collegii Academici Societatis Jesu
Page 105 and 106:
In terms of publicising, there seem
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the Kingdom of Hungary until the la
Page 109 and 110:
Hatvani responds a few weeks later
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not flourish in Austria. On the con
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textbooks in architecture in Latin
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to Hell’s role in this context, w
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The Nordic context of Hell’s invi
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long time because of astronomical o
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Hamburg. From Hamburg, they again c
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“my observations, which I have ei
Page 125 and 126:
Pole” must designate something el
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observatory in Tyrnavia the year af
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his mentor with having been so “t
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esponsible for church services in t
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civilisation. In this situation, He
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FIG. 1a - 125 -
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FIG.1b - 127 -
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FIG. 1d FIG. 1c - 129 -
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FIG 2a FIG. 2b - 131 -
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edited during these years. What cam
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Society of Sciences in the same yea
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in keeping with the pro-Hungarian
Page 149 and 150:
In Hell’s letters written during
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eason as her Prussian counterpart,
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was in any case insufficient to fin
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Hviid visited Vienna from 27 Octobe
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in no small measure thanks to the c
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Catholic cities and provinces, at t
Page 161 and 162:
Numerous letters from Hell to the b
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In preceding sections, it has been
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estore the studies at the universit
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When in 1775 a collection of essays
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assistants and all the sailors of t
Page 171 and 172:
Maskelyne, upon repeated requests f
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around the mid-eighteenth century.
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Despite radical changes in the inst
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The catalogue of “Jesuiten-Mathem
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At the dawn of the 1770s, the Jesui
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well as Hell’s adjunctus. In Nove
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died in Quinque Ecclesiae. 387 Afte
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However limited evidence we have on
Page 187 and 188:
The above-mentioned damages that ha
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when certain Slovak writers classif
Page 191 and 192:
Ephemerides Astronomicae in all cou
Page 193 and 194:
Part II THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY TRAN
Page 195 and 196:
year. For over a hundred years, his
Page 197 and 198:
mechanics presented later in the sa
Page 199 and 200:
A transit may last for several hour
Page 201 and 202:
FIGURE 4 THE SHIFT OF VENUS‟ PATH
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FIGURE 6 DELISLE‟S METHOD Delisle
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the difference in latitude and long
Page 207 and 208:
equired. In theory, the difference
Page 209 and 210:
A few years after Halley wrote his
Page 211 and 212:
Lalande 1764), 36 9.26″ (Audiffre
Page 213 and 214:
where the senior astronomer Delisle
Page 215 and 216:
Prior to the 1761 transit, Father H
Page 217 and 218:
II.1.4 FATHER HELL ON LESSONS TO BE
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Veneris). The author of this rather
Page 221 and 222:
ecognised as an able observer and c
Page 223 and 224:
This means that the actual number o
Page 225 and 226:
As to the number of individual obse
Page 227 and 228:
TABLE 1 HELL 1761a COMPARED TO WOOL
Page 229 and 230:
II.2 THE NORDIC REGIONS AND THE TRA
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foremost, the history of activities
Page 233 and 234:
analyse the degree of success or fa
Page 235 and 236:
same meridian. For this occasion, W
Page 237 and 238:
than one place in this region. 22 T
Page 239 and 240:
All three observers in Siberia - Ch
Page 241 and 242:
prove insufficient to cover all the
Page 243 and 244:
(1739-1781), covered the eastern an
Page 245 and 246:
proposal of Lomonosov. The chief ar
Page 247 and 248:
II.2.3 THE ROLE OF DENMARK IN THE V
Page 249 and 250:
astronomer among its members and it
Page 251 and 252:
Thus, Kratzenstein expected the Ara
Page 253 and 254:
himself, along with Rødkier, Ahl,
Page 255 and 256:
data published. Hammer‟s manuscri
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provide data of the utmost utility
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Norwegian garrison had been station
Page 261 and 262:
way to Copenhagen. Even before he m
Page 263 and 264:
newspaper article. It is stated, ho
Page 265 and 266:
his destination with the necessary
Page 267 and 268:
men, black slaves among them. 134 B
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eady on a hilltop nearby. The weath
Page 271 and 272:
Kratzenstein has travelled to Trond
Page 273 and 274:
enlarged 150 times. The first conta
Page 275 and 276:
Arguably, these concluding lines ar
Page 277 and 278:
The success was short-lived, howeve
Page 279 and 280:
II.2.5 ASSESSMENT OF VENUS TRANSIT
Page 281 and 282:
emained at a very high level in bot
Page 283 and 284:
path of Venus, in order to mount a
Page 285 and 286:
a number of inaccuracies in his sum
Page 287 and 288:
TABLE 4a OFFICIAL SWEDISH REPORTS O
Page 289 and 290:
II.3 THE ROLE OF FATHER HELL IN THE
Page 291 and 292:
another edition to hand are advised
Page 293 and 294:
In the year 1767, nothing was furth
Page 295 and 296:
Neither claim is entirely correct.
Page 297 and 298:
effectively withdraws the invitatio
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Lalande became one of the Venus-tra
Page 301 and 302:
singled out in several recent works
Page 303 and 304:
As explained in Section II.1.2 abov
Page 305 and 306:
in the ordinary method, stars of no
Page 307 and 308:
1769, Hell speaks of a latitude of
Page 309 and 310:
Incidentally, Hell’s final conclu
Page 311 and 312:
The interior contact of egress is d
Page 313 and 314:
TABLE 5 THE CONTENTS OF THE VARIOUS
Page 315 and 316:
o’clock, as these operations came
Page 317 and 318:
the Supreme Being. I for my part wi
Page 319 and 320:
the official observatory of that ac
Page 321 and 322:
eputation, they had another thing i
Page 323 and 324:
Although the observations of Sajnov
Page 325 and 326:
The review is astonishingly positiv
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moments, as well as the excellent m
Page 329 and 330:
epeated calculations as the various
Page 331 and 332:
the Parallax of the Sun Deduced Fro
Page 333 and 334:
the frequent letters he sent to War
Page 335 and 336:
calculations by Monsieur Lexell and
Page 337 and 338:
The strife ended there, with parall
Page 339 and 340:
TABLE 7 CHRONOLOGY OF PARALLAX CALC
Page 341 and 342:
II.3.5 THE NACHLEBEN OF HELL’S VA
Page 343 and 344:
Upon inspection of the ‘astronomi
Page 345 and 346:
of detecting errors in Littrow’s
Page 347 and 348:
trump card in his hand, for observa
Page 349 and 350:
The next question, concerning the b
Page 351 and 352:
Royale des Sciences (post-revolutio
Page 353 and 354:
Part III EDITIONS OF PRIMARY SOURCE
Page 355 and 356:
apparatus or appendix). Often, as i
Page 357 and 358:
discussions. 3 The main ambition of
Page 359 and 360:
ased on a sort of craving for rules
Page 361 and 362:
etc.; and a if necessary a guide to
Page 363 and 364:
I have designated the texts thus: L
Page 365 and 366:
connoisseurs, which I am going to p
Page 367 and 368:
III.1.3 THE EDITING OF THE UNFINISH
Page 369 and 370:
e listed exhaustively in the appara
Page 371 and 372:
III.2 THE CALL FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS TO
Page 373 and 374:
SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION BY THE NORTH
Page 375 and 376:
The price cannot yet be established
Page 377 and 378:
OVERVIEW OF THE WHOLE WORK 1 entitl
Page 379 and 380:
Chapter IV. The activities in Copen
Page 381 and 382:
Chapter VII. On the transportation
Page 383 and 384:
VOLUME TWO. PHYSICAL. Volume two, p
Page 385 and 386:
PART THREE OF VOLUME TWO. On the ca
Page 387 and 388:
PART FIVE OF VOLUME TWO. Remarks on
Page 389 and 390:
VOLUME THREE. MATHEMATICAL AND ASTR
Page 391 and 392:
PART THREE OF VOLUME THREE. Observa
Page 393 and 394:
III.3 THE UNFINISHED INTRODUCTION T
Page 395 and 396:
Part One A diary of the entire Scie
Page 397 and 398:
Accordingly, the minds of astronome
Page 399 and 400:
extremes in the duration — in oth
Page 401 and 402:
For he 1 had been made to understan
Page 403 and 404:
famous Mister Lexell, a[nother] son
Page 405 and 406:
aware that the sites of observation
Page 407 and 408:
1769 (a.). However, among the highl
Page 409 and 410:
the transit would be located in the
Page 411 and 412:
Dixon were chosen for this mission
Page 413 and 414:
and astronomers recounted so far, d
Page 415 and 416:
For as it later emerged, the Divine
Page 417 and 418:
they decided to suggest to, and ind
Page 419 and 420:
sited by the Arctic sea, to become
Page 421 and 422:
As I rolled over in my mind these a
Page 423 and 424:
to Her Highness the Empress, asking
Page 425 and 426:
I should choose; this needed to be
Page 427 and 428:
he was already a famous and well kn
Page 429 and 430:
SUMMARY AND REFERENCES
Page 431 and 432:
eceived increasing support in Centr
Page 433 and 434:
items published before the year 180
Page 435 and 436:
econstruct lost parts of their corr
Page 437 and 438:
UNPRINTED SOURCES AND LITERATURE, 1
Page 439 and 440:
Vardø 15 Jan 1769 MERCIER (Copenha
Page 441 and 442:
Vienna 25 Mar ’80 J. BERNOULLI (B
Page 443 and 444:
Page 445 and 446:
FIXLMILLNER Cremif. [Mar-July 1783]
Page 447 and 448:
(measurements of the magnetic decli
Page 449 and 450:
MS, Excerpts from the works “Saxo
Page 451 and 452:
Page 453 and 454:
MS, [no heading] “Acceptis recent
Page 455 and 456:
[Anonymous] 1767: “Transitus Vene
Page 457 and 458:
1768: Voyage en Sibérie, fait par
Page 459 and 460:
1761b: Elementa Arithmeticæ Numeri
Page 461 and 462:
übersetzt, Dritter Band, pp. 171-3
Page 463 and 464:
Kratzenstein, Christian Gottlieb 17
Page 465 and 466:
Maskelyne, Nevil 1762: “An Accoun
Page 467 and 468:
1774: “Förklaring På de Formler
Page 469 and 470:
Trebuchet, Claude-Étienne 1766:
Page 471 and 472:
2011a: “Nordiske amatørastronome
Page 473 and 474:
Bennett, Jim 2002: “The travels a
Page 475 and 476:
Bursill-Hall, Piers (ed.) 1993: R.
Page 477 and 478:
Duhr, Bernhard 1892: Jesuiten-Fabel
Page 479 and 480:
Firneis, Maria G. & Franz Kerschbau
Page 481 and 482:
Harbsmeier, Michael 2003: “Indled
Page 483 and 484:
Hundrup, F. E. 1854: Biographiske e
Page 485 and 486:
Kragemo, Helge (Bergh) 1933: “Pat
Page 487 and 488:
Ludwig, Walther 1997: “Die neuzei
Page 489 and 490:
Nordenmark, N. V. E. 1939: Pehr Wil
Page 491 and 492:
2006: “Sverige, vetenskapen och P
Page 493 and 494:
Sajnovics, Johannes (Joannes, Johan
Page 495 and 496:
Smagina, Galina Ivanovna 2007: “P
Page 497 and 498:
Tibenský, Ján 1970: “Pokusy o o
Page 499 and 500:
Vorontsov-Vel’yaminov, Boris A. 1
Page 502:
ISBN xxx-xx-xxxx-xxx-x
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Maximilianus Hell (1720-1792) - Munin

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