NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Athanasius Kircher

Athanasius Kircher (listen (help· info)) (sometimes erroneously spelled Kirchner) was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology and medicine. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Download high resolution version (957x1240, 314 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... This page is about the year. ... Geisa is a town in the Wartburgkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. ... , Fulda (IPA: ) is a city in Hessen, Germany; it is located on the Fulda River and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (Kreis). ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events First Portuguese governor was appointed to Macau The Swedish city Karlskrona was founded as the Royal Swedish Navy relocated there. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area - City 1,285 kmÂ² (580 sq mi) - Urban 5... Image File history File links Athanasius_Kircher. ... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ... A scholar is either a student or someone who has achieved a mastery of some academic discipline, perhaps receiving financial support through a scholarship. ... For the book by Edward Said, see Orientalism (book). ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ...

He made an early study of Egyptian hieroglyphs. One of the first people to observe microbes through a microscope, he was thus ahead of his time in proposing that the plague was caused by an infectious microorganism and in suggesting effective measures to prevent the spread of the disease. It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ... Robert Hookes microscope (1665) - an engineered device used to study living systems. ... This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ... A cluster of Escherichia coli bacteria magnified 10,000 times. ...

Kircher has been compared to Leonardo da Vinci for his inventiveness and the breadth and depth of his work. A scientific star in his day, towards the end of his life he was eclipsed by the rationalism of René Descartes and others. In the late 20th century, however, the aesthetic qualities of his work again began to be appreciated. One scholar, Edward W. Schmidt, has called him "the last Renaissance man". â€œDa Vinciâ€ redirects here. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey 286). ... â€œDescartesâ€ redirects here. ... Aesthetics (or esthetics) (from the Greek word αισθητική) is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty. ... For other uses, see Renaissance Man (disambiguation). ...

Life

Kircher was born on May 2 in either 1601 or 1602 (he himself did not know) in Geisa, Buchonia, near Fulda. From his birthplace he took the epithets Bucho, Buchonius and Fuldensis which he sometimes added to his name. He attended the Jesuit College in Fulda from 1614 to 1618, when he joined the order himself as a seminarian. May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... Events February 8 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England - revolt is quickly crushed February 25 - Robert Devereux beheaded Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China Bad harvest in Russia due to rainy summer Dutch troops drive Portuguese from MÃ¡laga Battle of Kinsale, Ireland Births... This page is about the year. ... Geisa is a town in the Wartburgkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. ... Buchonia is a region in Hesse where one of the first forestry planning systems was developed by Georg Ludwig Hartig (1764-1837). ... , Fulda (IPA: ) is a city in Hessen, Germany; it is located on the Fulda River and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (Kreis). ... For the Ecuadorian artist, see Manuel RendÃ³n Seminario. ...

The youngest of nine children, Kircher was a precocious youngster who was taught Hebrew by a rabbi ^{[citation needed]}in addition to his studies at school. He studied philosophy and theology at Paderborn, but fled to Cologne in 1622 to escape advancing Protestant forces. ^{[citation needed]} On the journey, he narrowly escaped death after falling through the ice crossing the frozen Rhine— one of several occasions on which his life was endangered. Later, travelling to Heiligenstadt, he was caught and nearly hanged by a party of Protestant soldiers. ^{[citation needed]} The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. ... For other uses, see Cologne (disambiguation). ... Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... It has been suggested that River Rhine Pollution: November 1986 be merged into this article or section. ... Heilbad Heiligenstadt is a Thuringian ( Germany) city in the district of Eichsfeld. ... Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ...

At Heiligenstadt, he taught mathematics, Hebrew and Syriac, and produced a show of fireworks and moving scenery for the visiting Elector Archbishop of Mainz, showing early evidence of his interest in mechanical devices. He joined the priesthood in 1628 and became professor of ethics and mathematics at the University of Würzburg, where he also taught Hebrew and Syrian. From 1628, he also began to show an interest in Egyptian hieroglyphs. Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... Aramaic is a group of Semitic languages with a 3,000-year history. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Fireworks. ... The prince-electors or electoral princes of the Holy Roman Empire — German: Kurfürst (singular) Kurfürsten (plural) — were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Emperors of Germany. ... Between 780/82 AD and 1802 AD the Archbishop of Mainz, was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince of the middle ages. ... For other uses, see Mechanic (disambiguation). ... This article is about the sacrament. ... For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ... Euclid, Greek mathematician, 3rd century BC, as imagined by by Raphael in this detail from The School of Athens. ... [ recorded in this] The University of WÃ¼rzburg is a university in WÃ¼rzburg, Germany, founded in 1402. ...

Kircher published his first book (the Ars Magnesia, reporting his research on magnetism) in 1631, but the same year he was driven by the continuing Thirty Years' War to the papal University of Avignon in France. In 1633, he was called to Vienna by the emperor to succeed Kepler as Mathematician to the Habsburg court. On the intervention of Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, the order was rescinded and he was sent instead to Rome to continue with his scholarly work, but he had already set off for Vienna. For other senses of this word, see magnetism (disambiguation). ... Combatants Sweden Bohemia Denmark-Norway (Until 1643) Dutch Republic France Scotland England Saxony Holy Roman Empire ( Catholic League) Spain Austria Bavaria Commanders Frederick V Buckingham Leven Gustav II Adolf â€ Johan Baner Cardinal Richelieu Louis II de Bourbon Turenne Christian IV of Denmark Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Johann Georg I of... City flag City coat of arms Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France RÃ©gion Provence-Alpes-CÃ´te dAzur DÃ©partement Vaucluse (prÃ©fecture) Arrondissement Avignon Canton Chief town of 4 cantons Intercommunality CommunautÃ© dagglomÃ©ration du Grand Avignon Mayor Marie-JosÃ©e Roig... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (July 9, 1578 â€“ February 15, 1637), of the House of Habsburg, reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1620-1637. ... â€œKeplerâ€ redirects here. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (December 1, 1580 â€“ June 24, 1637) was a French astronomer and savant who maintained a wide correspondence with scientists and was a successful organizer of scientific inquiry, whose own researches were not confined to the matter of determining the difference in longitude of various locations... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area - City 1,285 kmÂ² (580 sq mi) - Urban 5...

On the way, his ship was blown off-course and he arrived in Rome before he knew of the changed decision. He based himself in the city for the rest of his life, and from 1638, he taught mathematics, physics and oriental languages at the Collegio Romano for several years before being released to devote himself to research. He studied malaria and the plague, amassing a collection of antiquities, which he exhibited along with devices of his own creation in the Museum Kircherianum. A magnet levitating above a high-temperature superconductor demonstrates the Meissner effect. ... There are a wide variety of languages spoken thoughout Asia, comprising a number of families and unrelated isolate languages. ... The North American College at the Gregorian The Pontifical Gregorian University is a Roman Catholic theological seminary in Rome. ... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. ... This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ... For the magazine about archaeology, see Archaeology (magazine). ...

In 1661, Kircher discovered the ruins of a church said to have been constructed by Constantine on the site of Saint Eustace's vision of Jesus Christ in a stag's horns. He raised money to pay for the church’s reconstruction as the Santuario della Mentorella, and his heart was buried in the church on his death. For the architectural structure, see Church (building). ... Constantine. ... On a wing of the Paumgartner Altarpiece, Albrecht DÃ¼rer painted Lukas Paumgartner with the banner of his patron St Eustace, in the contemporary armor of a landsknecht. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Works

Kircher published a large number of substantial books on a very wide variety of subjects, such as Egyptology, geology, and music theory. His syncretic approach paid no attention to the boundaries between disciplines which are now conventional: his Magnes, for example, was ostensibly a discussion of magnetism, but also explored other forms of attraction such as gravity and love. Perhaps Kircher's best-known work today is his Oedipus Aegyptiacus (1652–54) a vast study of Egyptology and comparative religion. His books, written in Latin, had a wide circulation in the 17th century, and they contributed to the dissemination of scientific information to a broader circle of readers. The Great Sphinx of Giza against Khafres Pyramid at the Giza pyramid complex. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Music theory is a field of study that investigates the nature or mechanics of music. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other senses of this word, see magnetism (disambiguation). ... Gravity is a force of attraction that acts between bodies that have mass. ... For other uses, see Love (disambiguation). ... Oedipus Aegyptiacus is Athanasius Kirchers supreme work of Egyptology. ... The Major religious groups of the world. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

Egyptology

Kircher was acknowledged as his era's greatest student of Ancient Egypt. While some of his notions are long discredited, portions of his work have been valuable to later scholars; Kircher helped pioneer Egyptology as a field of serious study. Khafres Pyramid and the Great Sphinx of Giza, built about 2550 BC during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom,[1] are enduring symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was a civilization in Northeastern Africa concentrated along the middle to lower reaches of the Nile River...

Kircher's interest in Egyptology began in 1628 when he became intrigued by a collection of hieroglyphs in the library at Speyer. He learned Coptic in 1633 and published the first grammar of that language in 1636, the non-expressive scan of out of copyright (1636) image from Athanasius Kirchers Prodromus Coptus, p. ... non-expressive scan of out of copyright (1636) image from Athanasius Kirchers Prodromus Coptus, p. ... The Coptic language is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian language which was once written in Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts. ... Speyer (English formerly Spires) is a city in Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate) with approx. ... The Coptic language is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian language which was once written in Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts. ...

Prodromus coptus sive aegyptiacus. In the Lingua aegyptiaca restituta of 1643, he argued that Coptic was not a separate language, but the last development of ancient Egyptian. He also recognised the relationship between the hieratic and hieroglyphic scripts. // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ... The Coptic language is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian language which was once written in Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts. ... Spoken in: Ancient Egypt Language extinction: evolved into Demotic by 600 BC, into Coptic by AD 200, and was extinct by the 17th century Language family: Afro-Asiatic Egyptian Writing system: hieroglyphs, cursive hieroglyphs, hieratic, and demotic (later, occasionally Arabic script in government translations) Language codes ISO 639-1: none... Development of hieratic script from hieroglyphs; after Champollion. ...

In Oedipus Aegyptiacus he argued, under the impression of the Hieroglyphica, that ancient Egyptian was the language spoken by Adam and Eve, that Hermes Trismegistus was Moses, and that hieroglyphs were occult symbols which "cannot be translated by words, but expressed only by marks, characters and figures." This led him to translate simple hieroglyphic texts now known to read as dd Wsr ("Osiris says") as "The treachery of Typhon ends at the throne of Isis; the moisture of nature is guarded by the vigilance of Anubis". Kircher apparently fooled himself (as well as some contemporaries) into believing that he could read the hieroglyphics, but his "translations" were largely figments of his own imagination, having little to do with the actual text. Horapollo (from Horus Apollo, á½©ÏÎ±Ï€ÏŒÎ»Î»Ï‰Î½) is supposed author of a treatise on Egyptian hieroglyphs, extant in a Greek translation by one Philippus, titled Hieroglyphica, dating to about the 5th century. ... Spoken in: Ancient Egypt Language extinction: evolved into Demotic by 600 BC, into Coptic by AD 200, and was extinct by the 17th century Language family: Afro-Asiatic Egyptian Writing system: hieroglyphs, cursive hieroglyphs, hieratic, and demotic (later, occasionally Arabic script in government translations) Language codes ISO 639-1: none... Michelangelos Creation of Adam, from the Sistine Chapel. ... Hermes Trismegistus (Greek: , thrice-great Hermes; Latin: Mercurius ter Maximus) is the syncretism of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ...

Although his approach to deciphering the texts was based on a fundamental misconception, Kircher did pioneer serious study of hieroglyphs, and the data which he collected were later used by Champollion in his successful efforts to decode the script. Kircher himself was alive to the possibility of the hieroglyphs constituting an alphabet: he included in his proposed system (incorrect) derivations of the Greek alphabet from 21 hieroglyphs. He was actively involved in the erection of Obelisks on Roman squares, often adding fantastic "hieroglyphs" of his own design in the blank areas that are now puzzling to modern scholars. Jean_François Champollion For the comet rendezvous spacecraft, see Champollion (spacecraft). ... ABCs redirects here, for the Alien Big Cats, see British big cats. ... The Greek alphabet (Greek: ) is an alphabet consisting of 24 letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 8th or early 9th century BC. It was the first alphabet in the narrow sense, that is, a writing system using a separate symbol for each vowel...

Sinology

Kircher had an early interest in China, telling his superior in 1629 that he wished to become a missionary to the country. His China Illustrata (1667) was an encyclopedia of China, which combined accurate cartography with mythical elements, such as dragons. The work emphasised the Christian elements of Chinese history, both real and imagined: he noted the early presence of Nestorians, but also claimed that the Chinese were descended from the sons of Ham, that Confucius was Hermes Trismegistus/Moses and that the Chinese characters were corrupted hieroglyphs. In his system, ideograms were inferior to hieroglyphs because they referred to specific ideas rather than to mysterious complexes of ideas, while the signs of the Maya and Aztecs were yet lower pictograms which referred only to objects. Umberto Eco comments that this idea reflected and supported the European attitude to the Chinese and native American civilisations; scan of 1667 map; from http://www. ... scan of 1667 map; from http://www. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... Two Mormon missionaries A missionary is traditionally defined as a propagator of religion who works to convert those outside that community; someone who proselytizes. ... Cartography or mapmaking (in Greek chartis = map and graphein = write) is the study and practice of making maps or globes. ... For other uses, see Dragon (disambiguation). ... The term Nestorianism is eponymous, even though the person who lent his name to it always denied the associated belief. ... Ham (×—Ö¸×, Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew , , Geez Kam), according to the Genealogies of Genesis, was a son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. ... Confucius (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kung-fu-tzu), lit. ... Japanese name Kanji: Hiragana: Korean name Hangul: Hanja: Vietnamese name Quoc Ngu: Han Tu: A Chinese character or Han character (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a logogram used in writing Chinese, Japanese, sometimes Korean, and formerly Vietnamese. ... A Chinese character. ... This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... The Aztecs is a term used for certain Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, semiotician, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa) and his many essays. ...

"China was presented not as an unknown barbarian to be defeated but as a prodigal son who should return to the home of the common father". (p. 69)

Geology

On a visit to southern Italy in 1638, the ever-curious Kircher was lowered into the crater of Vesuvius, then on the brink of eruption, in order to examine its interior. He was also intrigued by the subterranean rumbling which he heard at the Strait of Messina. His geological and geographical investigations culminated in his Mundus Subterraneus of 1664, in which he suggested that the tides were caused by water moving to and from a subterranean ocean. non-expressive scan of out of copyright (1678) image from Athanasius Kirchers Mundus Subterraneus (1678 edn. ... non-expressive scan of out of copyright (1678) image from Athanasius Kirchers Mundus Subterraneus (1678 edn. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Southern Italy, often referred to in Italian as the Mezzogiorno (a term first used in 19th century in comparison with French Midi ) encompasses six of the countrys 20 regions: Basilicata Campania Calabria Puglia Sicilia Sardinia Sicilia although it is geographically and administratively included in Insular Italy, it has a... Events March 29 - Swedish colonists establish first settlement in Delaware, called New Sweden. ... Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio) is a volcano east of Naples, Italy, located at 40°49′N 14°26′ E. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland, although it is not currently erupting. ... Satellite photo of the Strait of Messina with names. ... Events March 12 - New Jersey becomes a colony of England. ... This article is about tides in the Earths oceans. ... Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ...

Kircher was also puzzled by fossils. He understood that some were the remains of animals which had turned to stone, but ascribed others to human invention or to the spontaneous generative force of the earth. Not all the objects which he was attempting to explain were in fact fossils, hence the diversity of explanations. For other uses, see Fossil (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland Technically, soil forms the pedosphere: the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ...

Medicine

Kircher took a notably modern approach to the study of diseases, as early as 1646 using a microscope to investigate the blood of plague victims. In his Scrutinium Pestis of 1658, he noted the presence of "little worms" or "animalcules" in the blood, and concluded that the disease was caused by microorganisms. The conclusion was correct, although it is likely that what he saw were in fact red or white blood cells and not the plague agent, Yersinia pestis. He also proposed hygienic measures to prevent the spread of disease, such as isolation, quarantine, burning clothes worn by the infected and wearing facemasks to prevent the inhalation of germs. This article is about the medical term. ... Robert Hookes microscope (1665) - an engineered device used to study living systems. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... This article concerns the mid fourteenth century pandemic. ... Animalcule is an older term for a microscopic animal or protozoan. ... A cluster of Escherichia coli bacteria magnified 10,000 times. ... â€œRed cellâ€ redirects here. ... â€œWhite Blood Cellsâ€ redirects here. ... A blood cell is any cell of any type normally found in blood. ... Binomial name (Lehmann & Neumann, 1896) van Loghem 1944 Yersinia pestis is a Gram-negative facultative anaerobic bipolar-staining (giving it a safety pin appearance) bacillus bacterium belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae. ... Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good health and cleanliness. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Germ can mean: Microorganism, especially a pathogenic one; see Germ theory of disease. ...

Display of screen images

In 1646, Kircher published Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae, on the subject of the display of images on a screen using an apparatus similar to the magic lantern as developed by Christian Huygens and others. Kircher described the construction of a "catotrophic lamp" that used reflection to project images on the wall of a darkened room. Although Kircher did not invent the device, he made improvements over previous models, and suggested methods by which exhibitors could use his device. Much of the significance of his work arises from Kircher rational approach towards the demystification of projected images.^[1] Previously such images had been used in Europe to mimic supernatural (Kircher himself cites the use of displayed images by the rabbis in the court of King Solomon). Kircher stressed that exhibitors should take great care to inform spectators that such images were purely naturalistic, and not magical in origin. 1646 (MDCXLVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... The magic lantern or Laterna Magica was the ancestor of the modern slide projector. ... Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens (approximate pronunciation: HOW-khens; SAMPA /h9yGEns/ or /h@YG@ns/) (April 14, 1629–July 8, 1695), was a Dutch mathematician and physicist; born in The Hague as the son of Constantijn Huygens. ... It has been suggested that Sulayman be merged into this article or section. ...

Other

Kircher constructed a magnetic clock, the mechanism of which he explained in his Magnes (1641). The device had originally been invented by another Jesuit, Fr. Francis Line, and was described by an acquaintance of Line's in 1634. Kircher's patron Peiresc had claimed that the clock's motion supported the Copernican cosmological model, the argument being that the magnetic sphere in the clock was caused to rotate by the magnetic force of the sun. Kircher's model disproved the theory, showing that the motion could be produced by a water clock in the base of the device. non-expressive scan of out of copyright (1641) image from Athanasius Kirchers Magnes This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... non-expressive scan of out of copyright (1641) image from Athanasius Kirchers Magnes This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... For other senses of this word, see magnetism (disambiguation). ... In astronomy, heliocentrism is the theory that the Sun is at the center of the Universe and/or the Solar System. ... Sol redirects here. ... A water clock or clepsydra is a device for measuring time by letting water regularly flow out of a container usually by a tiny aperture. ...

Other machines designed by Kircher include an aeolian harp, automatons such as a statue which spoke and listened via a speaking tube, a perpetual motion machine, or a cat piano which would drive spikes into the tails of cats which yowled to specified pitches, although he is not known to have actually constructed the instrument. Aeolian harp in the old castle of Baden Baden, from an article in Scientific American Supplement, No. ... The Canard DigÃ©rateur of Jacques de Vaucanson, hailed in 1739 as the first automaton capable of digestion. ... A speaking tube or voicepipe is a device based around two cones connected by an air pipe through which speech can be transmitted over an extended distance. ... This article or section should include material from Parallel Path See also Perpetuum mobile as a musical term Perpetual motion machines (the Latin term perpetuum mobile is not uncommon) are a class of hypothetical machines which would produce useful energy in a way science cannot explain (yet). ... A cat piano or Katzenklavier (German) is a hypothetical musical instrument consisting of a line of cats fixed in place with their tails stretched out underneath a keyboard. ... Pitch is the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. ...

The Musurgia Universalis (1650) sets out Kircher's views on music: he believed that the harmony of music reflected the proportions of the universe. The book includes plans for constructing water-powered automatic organs, notations of birdsong and diagrams of musical instruments. One illustration shows the differences between the ears of humans and other animals. In Phonurgia Nova (1673) Kircher considered the possibilities of transmitting music to remote places. non-expressive scan of out of copyright (1650) image from Athanasius Kirchers Musurgia Universalis from http://special. ... non-expressive scan of out of copyright (1650) image from Athanasius Kirchers Musurgia Universalis from http://special. ... For other uses, see Ear (disambiguation). ... This article is about modern humans. ... COW is an acronym for a number of things: Can of worms The COW programming language, an esoteric programming language. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ... For other uses, see Leopard (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis lybica invalid junior synonym The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ... Species 50 species; see text *Several subfamilies of Muroids include animals called rats. ... For other uses, see Pig (disambiguation). ... Species See text. ... â€œGeeseâ€ redirects here. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. ... For other uses, see Universe (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Bird song refers to the sounds, usually melodious to the human ear, made by many birds of the order Passeriformes as a form of communication. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... For other uses, see Ear (disambiguation). ...

Kircher wrote against the Copernican model in his Magnes (supporting instead that of Tycho Brahe), but in his later Itinerarium extaticum (1656, revised 1671) he presented several systems, including the Copernican, as alternative possibilities. In Polygraphia nova (1663) he proposed an artificial universal language. In astronomy, heliocentrism is the theory that the Sun is at the center of the Universe and/or the Solar System. ... Monument of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler in Prague Tycho Brahe, born Tyge Ottesen Brahe (December 14, 1546 â€“ October 24, 1601), was a Danish nobleman from the region of Scania (in modern-day Sweden), best known today as an early astronomer, though in his lifetime he was also well known... The idea of a universal language is at least as old as the Biblical story of Babel. ...

Kircher received a copy of the Voynich Manuscript in 1666; it was sent to him by Johannes Marcus Marci in the hope of his being able to decipher it. The manuscript remained in the Collegio Romano until Victor Emmanuel II of Italy annexed the papal states in 1870. The Voynich manuscript is written in an unknown script. ... Jan Marek Marci of Kronland, in Latin Johannes Marcus Marci (1595 – 1677), was a doctor and scientist in Bohemia (present Czech Republic). ... King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. ... Coat of arms Map of the Papal States; the reddish area was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, the rest (grey) in 1870. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

In 1675, he published Arca Noë, the results of his research on the biblical Ark of Noah— following the Counter-Reformation, allegorical interpretation was giving way to the study of the Old Testament as literal truth among Scriptural scholars. Kircher analyzed the dimensions of the Ark; based on the number of species known to him (excluding insects and other forms thought to arise spontaneously), he calculated that overcrowding would not have been a problem. He also discussed the logistics of the Ark voyage, speculating on whether extra livestock was brought to feed carnivores and what the daily schedule of feeding and caring for animals must have been. Year 1675 (MDCLXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... A painting by the American Edward Hicks (1780â€“1849), showing the animals boarding Noahs Ark two by two. ... The Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ... Allegorical interpretation in Biblical studies is the approach which assigns a higher-than-literal interpretation to contents of the Bible. ... Abiogenesis, in its most general sense, is the hypothetical generation of life from non-living matter. ...

Influence

For most of his professional life, Kircher was one of the scientific stars of the world: according to historian Paula Findlen, he was "the first scholar with a global reputation". His importance was twofold: to the results of his own experiments and research he added information gleaned from his correspondence with over 760 scientists, physicians and above all his fellow Jesuits in all parts of the globe. The Encyclopædia Britannica calls him a "one-man intellectual clearing house". His works, illustrated to his orders, were extremely popular, and he was the first scientist to be able to support himself through the sale of his books. Towards the end of his life his stock fell, as the rationalist Cartesian approach began to dominate (Descartes himself described Kircher as "more quacksalver than savant"). In the scientific method, an experiment (Latin: ex- periri, of (or from) trying) is a set of observations performed in the context of solving a particular problem or question, to support or falsify a hypothesis or research concerning phenomena. ... The EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by EncyclopÃ¦dia Britannica, Inc. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey 286). ... â€œDescartesâ€ redirects here. ...

Thereafter, Kircher was largely neglected until the late 20th century. One writer attributes his rediscovery to the similarities between his eclectic approach and postmodernism: "at the start of the 21st century Kircher's taste for trivia, deception and wonder is back”; "Kircher's postmodern qualities include his subversiveness, his celebrity, his technomania and his bizarre eclecticism" [1]. Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... Look up trivia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Celebrity (disambiguation). ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

As few of Kircher's works have been translated, the contemporary emphasis has been on their aesthetic qualities rather than their actual content, and a succession of exhibitions have highlighted the beauty of their illustrations. Historian Anthony Grafton has said that "the staggeringly strange dark continent of Kircher's work [is] the setting for a Borges story that was never written", while Umberto Eco has written about Kircher in his novel The Island of the Day Before, as well as in his non-fiction works The Search for the Perfect Language and Serendipities. Aesthetics (or esthetics) (from the Greek word αισθητική) is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty. ... Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Luis Borges (August 24, 1899 – June 14, 1986) was an Argentine writer who is considered to be one of the foremost writers of the 20th century. ... Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, semiotician, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa) and his many essays. ... The Island of the Day Before is a novel by Umberto Eco. ...

The Athanasius Kircher Society is a weblog devoted to unusual ephemera, which very occasionally relate to Kircher^[2]

Bibliography

References

Texts

John Edward Fletcher (January 18th, 1940 - June 2nd, 1992) was a British / Australian scholar . ... John Edward Fletcher (January 18th, 1940 - June 2nd, 1992) was a British / Australian scholar . ... John Edward Fletcher (January 18th, 1940 - June 2nd, 1992) was a British / Australian scholar . ... John Edward Fletcher (January 18th, 1940 - June 2nd, 1992) was a British / Australian scholar . ... John Edward Fletcher (January 18th, 1940 - June 2nd, 1992) was a British / Australian scholar . ... John Edward Fletcher (January 18th, 1940 - June 2nd, 1992) was a British / Australian scholar . ... John Edward Fletcher (January 18th, 1940 - June 2nd, 1992) was a British / Australian scholar . ...

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