Petrus Apianus (16 April 1495 – 21 April 1552), also known as Peter Apian, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography.
The lunar crater Apianus and minor planet 19139 Apian are named in his honour.
He was born as Peter Bienewitz (or Bennewitz) in Leisnig in Saxony; his father was a shoemaker. The family was relatively well off, belonging to the middle-class citizenry of Leisnig. Apianus was educated at th...
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Petrus Apianus (16 April 1495 – 21 April 1552), also known as Peter Apian, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography.
The lunar crater Apianus and minor planet 19139 Apian are named in his honour.
He was born as Peter Bienewitz (or Bennewitz) in Leisnig in Saxony; his father was a shoemaker. The family was relatively well off, belonging to the middle-class citizenry of Leisnig. Apianus was educated at the Latin school in Rochlitz. From 1516 to 1519 he studied at the University of Leipzig; during this time, he Latinized his name to Apianus (lat. apis means "bee"; "Biene" is the German word for bee).
In 1519, Apianus moved to Vienna and continued his studies at the University of Vienna, which was considered one of the leading universities in geography and mathematics at the time and where Georg Tannstetter taught. When the plague broke out in Vienna in 1521, he completed his studies with a B.A. and moved to Regensburg and then to Landshut.
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