Roger Joseph Boscovich

"Ruđer Bošković" redirects here. For other uses, see Ruđer Bošković (disambiguation).

The Reverend
Roger Joseph Boscovich
SJ FRS
Portrait by Robert Edge Pine, London, 1760.
Born
Ruđer Josip Bošković

(1711-05-18)18 May 1711
Dubrovnik, Republic of Ragusa
(present-day Croatia)
Died13 February 1787(1787-02-13) (aged 75)
Milan, Duchy of Milan
(present-day Italy)
CitizenshipRepublic of Ragusa
Alma materCollegio Romano[1]
Known forPrecursor of the atomic theory
Founder of Brera Observatory
AwardsForMemRS (1761)
Scientific career
FieldsTheology, physics, astronomy, mathematics, natural philosophy, diplomacy, poetry
InstitutionsBrera Observatory
University of Pavia

Roger Joseph Boscovich SJ (Croatian: Ruđer Josip Bošković, pronounced [rûd͡ʑer jǒsip bôʃkoʋit͡ɕ]; Italian: Ruggiero Giuseppe Boscovich;[2] Latin: Rogerius (Iosephus) Boscovicius;[3] 18 May 1711 – 13 February 1787) was a physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, diplomat, poet, theologian, Jesuit priest, and a polymath from the Republic of Ragusa.[4] He studied and lived in Italy and France where he also published many of his works.[5]

Boscovich produced a precursor of atomic theory and made many contributions to astronomy, including the first geometric procedure for determining the equator of a rotating planet from three observations of a surface feature and for computing the orbit of a planet from three observations of its position. In 1753 he also discovered the absence of an atmosphere on the Moon.[6]

  1. ^ The successor institution to the Collegio Romano is the Pontifical Gregorian University.
  2. ^ "La firma autografa (The original Boscovich's autograph)". edizionenazionaleboscovich.it. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  3. ^ Gerardus Heerkens, Notabilium libri II, Groningae, 1765, p. 61: "Dalmata erat Boscovicius, Ragusâ oriundus".
  4. ^ Biography: Roger Joseph Boscovich, S.J., Fairchild University website.Archived 27 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ James, I. (2004). Remarkable Physicists: From Galileo to Yukawa. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN 9780521017060.
  6. ^ Энциклопедия для детей (астрономия). Москва: Аванта+. 1998. ISBN 978-5-89501-016-7.