The scientist Wilhelm Schikkard (a photo of his portrait is given later in the article) is a German astronomer, mathematician and cartographer at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1623, he invented one of the first calculating machines. He proposed to Kepler the mechanical tools he developed for calculating the ephemeris (positions of celestial bodies at regular intervals) and contributed to improving the accuracy of the maps.
Wilhelm Schickard: biography
The photo of the portrait of William Schickard, posted below, shows us an impressive man with a penetrating gaze. The future scientist was born on April 22, 1592 in Herrenberg, a small town located in Württemberg in southern Germany, about 15 km from one of the oldest university centers in Europe, Tübinger-Stift, founded in 1477. He was the first child in the family of Lucas Schickard (1560- 1602), a carpenter and master builder from Herrenberg, who in 1590 married the daughter of a Lutheran pastor Margaret Gmelin-Schikkard (1567-1634). Wilhelm had a younger brother Lucas and a sister. His great-grandfather was a famous woodcarver and sculptor, whose work has survived to this day, and his uncle is one of the most outstanding German Renaissance architects.
Wilhelm began his education in 1599 at Herrenberg Elementary School. After the death of his father in September 1602, Uncle Philip, who served as a priest in Guglingen, took care of him, and in 1603 Schickard studied there. In 1606, another uncle took him to a church school in the Bebenhausen monastery near Tübingen, where he worked as a teacher.
The school had connections with the Protestant seminary in Tübingen, and from March 1607 to April 1609, young William studied for a bachelor's degree, studying not only languages and theology, but also mathematics and astronomy.
Master
In January 1610, William Schikkard went to Tübinger-Stift to study for a master's degree. The institution belonged to the Protestant church and was intended for those who wish to become pastors or teachers. Students received a scholarship, which included food, accommodation and 6 guilders per year for personal needs. This was very important for William, because his family apparently did not have enough money to support him. In 1605, Shikkard's mother married a pastor from Mensheim Bernhard Sik for the second time, who passed away a few years later.
In addition to Shikkard, other well-known students of Tübinger-Stift were the famous humanist, mathematician and astronomer of the 16th century. Nicodemus Frischlin (1547-1590), the great astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), the famous poet Friedrich Gelderlin (1770-1843), the great philosopher Georg Hegel (1770-1831), etc.
Church and family
Having received a master's degree in July 1611, Wilhelm continued to study theology and Hebrew in Tübingen until 1614, while working as a private teacher of mathematics and Oriental languages, and even a vicar. In September 1614, he passed his last theological exam and began church service as a Protestant deacon in the city of Nürtingen, located about 30 km northwest of Tübingen.
On January 24, 1615, Wilhelm Schikkard married Sabine Mack from Kirheim. They had 9 children, but (as usual at that time) by 1632 only four survived: Ursula-Margaret (1618), Judit (1620), Theophilos (1625) and Sabina (1628).
Shikkard served as a deacon until the summer of 1619. Church duties left him a lot of time to study. He continued to study ancient languages, worked on translations, and wrote several treatises. For example, in 1615 he sent Michael Maestlin an extensive manuscript on optics. At this time, he also developed his artistic skills, painting portraits and creating astronomical instruments.
Teaching
In 1618, Schikkard filed an application and in August 1619, on the recommendation of the Duke Friedrich von Württemberg, was appointed professor of Hebrew at the University of Tübingen. The young professor created his own method of presenting material and some supporting materials, and also taught other ancient languages. In addition, Shikkard studied Arabic and Turkish. His Horolgium Hebraeum, a 24-hour Hebrew textbook, was reprinted many times over the next two centuries.
Professor of Innovation
His efforts to improve the teaching of his subject were distinguished by an innovative approach. He firmly believed that part of the teacher’s work was to facilitate the study of Hebrew. One of the inventions of William Schickard was Hebraea Rota. This mechanical device showed conjugations of verbs using 2 rotating disks stacked on top of each other with windows in which the corresponding forms appeared. In 1627, he wrote another textbook for German Hebrew students, Hebräischen Trichter.
Astronomy, mathematics, geodesy
Schickard’s research was wide. In addition to Hebrew, he studied astronomy, mathematics, and geodesy. For astroscopium maps of the sky, he invented a conical projection. His maps of 1623 are presented in the form of cones cut along the meridian with a pole in the center. Shikkard also achieved significant success in the field of mapping, in 1629 he wrote a very important treatise in which he showed how to create maps much more accurate than those available at that time. His most famous cartographic work, Kurze Anweisung, was published in 1629.
In 1631, Wilhelm Schikkard was appointed professor of astronomy, mathematics and geodesy. By the time he replaced the famous German scientist Mikael Mestlin, who died in the same year, he already had significant achievements and publications in these areas. He lectured in architecture, fortification, hydraulics and astronomy. Shikkard conducted a study of the motion of the moon and in 1631 published ephemeris, which allowed to determine the position of the Earth's satellite at any time.
At that time, the Church insisted that the Earth was in the center of the universe, but Shikkard was a staunch supporter of the heliocentric system.
In 1633, he was appointed dean of the Faculty of Philosophy.
Collaboration with Kepler
An important role in the life of the scientist William Schickard was played by the great astronomer Johannes Kepler. Their first meeting took place in the fall of 1617. Kepler then drove through Tübingen to Leonberg, where his mother was accused of witchcraft. Intensive correspondence between scientists began and several other meetings took place (during the week in 1621 and later for three weeks).
Kepler used not only the talent of his colleague in the field of mechanics, but also his artistic skills. An interesting fact: scientist Wilhelm Schikkard created a comet observation tool for a fellow astronomer. Later, he took care of Kepler’s son Ludwig, who studied in Tübingen. Shikkard agreed to draw and engrave the figures for the second part of the Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae, but the publisher stipulated that printing be done in Augsburg. At the end of December 1617, Wilhelm sent 37 prints for Kepler's 4th and 5th books. He also helped engrave the figures for the last two books (one of his cousins completed the work).
In addition, Shikkard created, perhaps, at the request of the great astronomer, an original computing tool. Kepler expressed his gratitude by sending him several of his works, two of which were preserved in the library of the University of Tübingen.
Wilhelm Schickard: a contribution to computer science
Kepler was a big fan of Napier’s logarithms and wrote about them to his colleague from Tübingen, who in 1623 designed the first “counting clock” Rechenuhr. The machine consisted of three main parts:
- a multiplying device in the form of 6 vertical cylinders with the numbers of Napier sticks deposited on them, closed in front by nine narrow plates with holes that can be moved left and right;
- a mechanism for recording intermediate results, composed of six rotating handles, on which are printed the numbers visible through the holes in the bottom row;
- a decimal 6-bit adder made of 6 axes, each with a 10-hole disk, a cylinder with numbers, a 10-tooth wheel, over which a wheel with 1 tooth is fixed (for transfer), and an additional 5 axles with wheels with 1 tooth .
After entering the multiplicable by rotating the cylinders with the help of the handles, opening the windows of the plates, it is possible to sequentially multiply units, tens, etc., adding up the intermediate results using the adder.
However, the design of the machine had flaws and could not work in the form whose design was preserved. The machine itself and its drawings were forgotten for a long time during the Thirty Years War.
War
In 1631, the life of William Schickard and his family was threatened by hostilities that approached Tübingen. Before the battle in the vicinity of the city in 1631, he fled to Austria with his wife and children and returned a few weeks later. In 1632 they again had to leave. In June 1634, hoping for calmer times, Schikkard bought a new house in Tubingen suitable for astronomical observations. However, his hopes were in vain. After the Battle of Nordlinged in August 1634, Catholic forces occupied Württemberg, bringing with it violence, famine and plague. Shikkard buried his most important records and manuscripts to save them from robbery. They are partially preserved, but not the scientist's family. In September 1634, robbing Herrenberg, the soldiers beat his mother, who died from her injuries. In January 1635, his uncle, the architect Heinrich Schickard, was killed.
Plague
Since the end of 1634, the biography of William Schickard has been marked by irreparable losses: his eldest daughter Ursula-Margareta, a girl of unusual intelligence and talent, died of the plague. Then the disease claimed the lives of his wife and two younger daughters, Judith and Sabina, two servants and a student who lived in his house. Shikkard survived this epidemic, but the following summer the plague returned, taking with him the sister who lived in his house. He and the only surviving 9-year-old son, Theophilus, fled to the village of Dublingen, located near Tübingen, with the intention of leaving for Geneva. However, on October 4, 1635, fearing that his house and especially his library would be looted, he returned. On October 18, Shikkard fell ill with the plague and died on October 23, 1635. A day later, his son suffered the same fate.
Interesting facts from life
The scientist Wilhelm Schikkard, in addition to Kepler, corresponded with other famous scientists of his time - mathematician Ismael Buyo (1605–1694), philosophers Pierre Gassendi (1592–1655) and Hugo Grotius (1583–1645), astronomers Johann Brenger, Nikola-Claude de Pree (1580–1637), by John Bainbridge (1582–1643). In Germany, he enjoyed great authority. Contemporaries called this universal genius the best astronomer in Germany after the death of Kepler (Bernegger), the most important hebraist after the death of the elder Bakstorf (Grotius), one of the greatest geniuses of the century (de Peiresk).
Like many other geniuses, Shikkard's interests were too extensive. He managed to finish only a small part of his projects and books, having passed away in the prime of life.
He was an outstanding polyglot. In addition to German, Latin, Arabic, Turkish and some ancient languages, such as Hebrew, Aramaic, Chaldean and Syriac, he also knew French, Dutch, etc.
Schickard undertook a study of the Duchy of Württemberg, which first used Willebord Snell's triangulation method in geodesic measurements.
He invited Kepler to develop a mechanical tool for calculating the ephemeris and created the first manual planetarium.