PEURBACH, GEORG

(1423-1461)

German astronomer and mathe-matician. He was educated at the University of Vienna (B.A. 1448, M.A. 1453) and then began teaching in the faculty of arts. He proba-bly knew the writings of a noted professor of astronomy at Vienna who died shortly before his arrival, John of Gmunden. Between 1448 and 1453, Peurbach travelled in Germany, France, and Italy. He be-came courtastrologerto King Ladislaus V of Hungary and subse-quently to the Emperor Frederick III, though his teaching at the uni-versity seems to have dealt withhumanisticrather than mathematical studies. He collaborated with his studentRegiomon-tanusin astronomical observations, and in 1454 he completedTheo-ricae novae planetarum/New Theory of the Planets, a traditional Ptolemaic work that was repeatedly reprinted. At the urging of Car-dinalJohannes Bessarion, Peurbach began work on anEpitome of the Almagest, a Latin summary of Ptolemy's Hellenistic astronomical treatise, since he knew noGreekand could not provide the fresh Latin translation that Bessarion wanted. His pupil Regiomontanus completed theEpitomeafter his death.