Johannes
Regiomontanus (Müller)

The son of a miller, he enrolled as a student at the University of Leipzig in 1448 at the age of eleven, where he studied mathematics and astronomy, philology, and philosophy. In 1448, he calculated his first astronomical almanac, which surpassed other calendars in accuracy and caused a sensation. In 1450, he became a student and collaborator of Georg Peurbach at the University of Vienna, with whom he worked for seven years. He received his Bachelor's degree in 1452 and his Master's degree in 1457. In 1461, he began lecturing in Vienna. This was followed by travels and teaching positions in Italy. From 1467 to 1471, he was Professor of Mathematics at the University of Pressburg (Bratislava), Hungary. At the beginning of 1471, he left the service of King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and arrived in Nuremberg in the autumn of 1471, where he remained until the summer of 1475. As early as 1471, he had his own printing press and a workshop (according to Murr, located in the Vorderen Kartäusergasse) for the production of astronomical texts and instruments. The major work of his printing press was the "Ephemerides" in 1474, a table with approximately 300,000 numbers and symbols that allowed for simple position determination at sea. In 1475, he published the first purely Antiqua typeface printed in Germany, which was crucial for the further development of printing. He likely obtained the type for this from Rome. He contributed significantly to establishing Nuremberg's reputation as a center of mathematical and astronomical scholarship. In 1475, Regiomontanus was summoned to Rome by Pope Sixtus IV to contribute to the improvement of the calendar, but he died the following year. His most important student was Bernhard Walther, who independently continued the observation series begun by Regiomontanus after his departure from Nuremberg. Walther purchased his library and instruments from his heirs; from his estate, they were acquired by the Nuremberg City Council in 1519 for 200 florins. The inventory from October 1522 listed 145 books.

His statue, cast in 1832 by Jakob Daniel Burgschmiet, is located in the Dürer Gymnasium in Nuremberg. The Regiomontanusweg in Nuremberg is named after him. A memorial plaque is located at his birthplace, Salzmarkt 6 in Königsberg, Bavaria. Panzer recorded his portrait.

Works: For a list, see Will, GL III, pp. 273–282 and VII, pp. 226–234. NUREMBERG, MStN. –, GNM. –, Dürer Gymnasium: Bronze statue, 94 cm, signed (Jakob Daniel) Burgschmiet, 1832.

Lit.: ADB; Thieme-Becker; Doppelmayr, 1730; Will, Münzbel. Vol. III, p. 30; H. Petz, in: MVGN 7, 1888; E. Zinner, 1968; Abeler, MdU, p. 505; I. Bues, in: Lebensbilder Franken 11, 1984; A. Wingen-Trennhaus, in: MVGN 78, 1991; R. Mett: Regiomontanus, Stuttgart, Leipzig 1996; Stadtlexikon 2000; Hans Gaab: Regiomontanus, Bernhard Walther, Johann Philipp von Wurzelbau und die große nürnbergische Uhr, in: Regiomontanusbote 14, 2001, 1, pp. 20–28.

Exhibitions: 1907/3; 1957/5; 1968/9; 1970/5, –/7; 1971/3; 1976/9; 1982/4; 1986/7; 2002/1 No. 90.

(quoted from the Nuremberg Artists' Lexicon, edited by Manfred H. Grieb)