Astro*Dictionary
by Michael Erlewine

1 article for
"Reinhold, Erasmus"

(rine'hold)

(1511-1553) German mathematician. Born at Saalfeld, Thuringia; died at Wittenberg, Saxony.

Professor of mathematics at the University of Wittenberg, the center of Lutheranism, which was initially severely anti-Copernican. Nevertheless, Reinhold made corrections to the work of Copernicus. He viewed the work of Copernicus as a computational device, not an accurate representation of actual planetary motions. Subsidized by Duke Albert of Prussia, he calculated a new set of planetary tables, the Tabulae Prutenicae (Prussian Tables), based on Copernicus' work; these tables were superior to the Alfonsine Tables, and provided a strong support for the theories of Copernicus. They were not to be excelled until Kepler provided his tables.

 

See also: ♦ Copernicus, Nicolas