Alternate Name
BornKassel, (Hessen, Germany), 24 June 1532
DiedKassel, (Hessen, Germany), 20 August 1592
Wilhelm IV built the first observatory in modern Europe with excellent instruments and staff, producing superior stellar catalogs. Wilhelm was the son of the Landgrave Philipp of Hessen (called the Magnaminous), who introduced the Reformation into Hesse and who became the leader of the Protestant princes. Wilhelm first obtained an education from private tutors at the court of Kassel, as well as, during the year 1546/1547, at the Gymnasium in Strasbourg founded by Johann Sturm. Already in childhood, he developed remarkable intellectual capabilities.
His interests in astronomy appeared to awaken early and were influenced by Peter Apian ’s brilliant work, Astronomicum Caesareum(1540). Under the influence of this book, Wilhelm’s interests developed in two directions. First, his fascination with the graphic modeling of revolving disks as a representation of...
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Hamel, J. (2014). Wilhelm IV. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_1471
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