Carlus Platus, a maker of metal globes in the last quarter of the sixteenth century, is known to us through two fine extant examples of his work.[351] The first of these, inscribed “Romae a. 1578 Car. Pl.,” may be found in the Museo di Strumenti Antichi of Florence, having been added to this collection by its former distinguished director, F. Meucci. The horizon diameter of this armillary sphere is about 21 cm. It has been described as one beautifully constructed of brass and mounted on a carved wooden base. The circle representing the course of the sun and that made to represent the course of the moon are made to revolve on the axis of the ecliptic, and a small ball, of recent construction, representing the earth, is placed in the common center of the armillae, and is made to revolve on the axis of the equator. A dial attached to the axis of the earth below the meridian circle marks the hours, which are engraved on the Arctic polar circle. A few points marked on the colures indicate the position of the principal stars. All of the circles have been carefully graduated. On that one representing the zodiac have been engraved the names of the months and the pictures of the several zodiacal figures, while on the horizon circle are the names of the principal winds in Greek, Latin, and Italian.
A second globe of Platus, signed “Carolus Platus Romae Anno 1598,” may be found in the Biblioteca Barbarini of Rome. It is composed of two hollow brass hemispheres, making a ball 14 cm. in diameter, which is surrounded by a brass meridian and a brass horizon circle, the whole resting on a tripod base. It is a fine example of an early metal engraved globe, the representation of the figures of the constellations in particular being done in a very superior manner. On the surface of the sphere the equator, the ecliptic, the equinoctial, and the solstitial colures are represented. The history of the globe seems not to be known, but it is probable that it came to the Barbarini Palace in the time of Pope Urban VIII, who, before filling his pontifical office, was known as Maffeo Barbarini.
Of the celestial globes constructed by George Roll and Joannes Reinhold three examples are known.[352] One of these may be found in the collection of the Mathematical Salon of Dresden (Fig. [74]) one in the Osservatorio di Capodimonte of Naples and one in the K. K. Hofbibliothek in Vienna. The Roll and Reinhold globe of the Dresden collection, bearing the inscription “Georg Roll et Joannes Reinhold elaborabant Augustae 1586,” is an exceedingly interesting instrument, unique in the manner of its construction and remarkably well preserved. It is of brass, having a diameter of 36 cm., and is furnished with numerous movable circles, a large meridian circle surmounted with an armillary sphere, and a brass horizon circle on which are marked the old and the new calendars, the names of the twelve months and of the important holy days. The globe base, very artistically wrought, rests upon four griffin’s feet, between which a small terrestrial globe 10 cm. in diameter has been placed, this having been furnished with its own independent support. The large celestial sphere is furnished with a clocklike mechanism by means of which it is made to revolve in representation of the diurnal motion of the heavens. According to existing records it was purchased in the year 1593 by order of the Elector Christian II, and by him was presented to the Academy of Arts of Dresden. Zeiller tells us that this and the Heyden globe were those “with which the Prince Elector Augustus was accustomed to amuse himself.”
Fig. 74. Globe of George Roll and Johannes Reinhold, 1586.
It has not been possible to obtain a description of the Vienna globe. It appears that it was constructed in the year 1588, and that, like the Dresden example, the celestial sphere is made to revolve by means of clockwork.
The Roll and Reinhold globe belonging to the Osservatorio di Capodimonte, according to Fiorini, is one especially worthy of mention.[353] This is described as a hollow ball having a diameter of about 21 cm. The sphere itself is made of copper, the remaining parts of gilded brass. The horizon circle is composed of several overlapping brass plates. A clockwork mechanism is supplied, by means of which the sphere and certain circles may be made to revolve. The surface of the copper sphere is artistically engraved, having numerous circles representing the ecliptic system with its parallels and meridians, and the equatorial system including its five zones. The Ptolemaic constellations are represented, the figure of each being engraved in outline with the name in Latin. The several stars are not named but near each is an engraved number to indicate its magnitude, these numbers ranging from 1 to 6. Nebulae are distinguished by small circles, and the Milky Way by numerous dots. The meridian circle, in which the sphere revolves, has the usual graduation from 0 to 90, but has in addition a climatic graduation designed “Climata ex Ptolomeo,” and a division into zones called “Torrida Zona,” “Zona habitabilis temperata,” and “Frigida zona.” On the convex surface of the horizon circle we find engraved the names of the four cardinal points, and on the upper surface of this circle are engraved the Julian and the Gregorian calendars, the names of the saints, the dates on which the sun enters the various signs of the zodiac, and the ancient names of the principal winds. The globe mountings, all of brass, are artistic and well preserved. Like the Dresden example it rests upon a four-branched support, the extremities of each branch representing the claws of the griffin. Including the base, the instrument is 43 cm. in height. It seems not to be known when or how this globe, constructed in Augsburg, found its way to the Naples Museum, where it is treasured as one of the choicest of ancient astronomical instruments.
Tycho Brahe, the great Danish astronomer (Fig. [75]), was a native of Knudtstrup near Helsingborg, born in the year 1546.[354] The care of his early education was assumed by an uncle, George Brahe, who in the year 1559 sent him to the Academy of Copenhagen with the intention of fitting him for the legal profession. Three years later we find him registered at the University of Leipzig, then famous for its department of jurisprudence. Like many another of the world’s great men for whom, in the days of his youth, interested relatives or friends have chosen a life career only to find in later life the choice not well made, Tycho’s bent was not for the legal profession but for science, that is, for mathematics and astronomy. While yet a student in Copenhagen an eclipse of the sun which occurred August 21, 1560, interested him greatly, and here we seem to find the beginning of that great future which was to be his. Forbidden by his schoolmaster to give his time to a study of the stars, in the quiet of the night he would secretly betake himself into the open, there to watch with unaided eye the movements of the heavenly bodies, or to follow these movements as best he could with the assistance of a simple astronomical circle and a small celestial globe which he had been able to purchase. It probably was in his Leipzig days that he became intimate with Bartholomaus Scultetus (Schultz), lecturer on mathematical subjects, and by him was encouraged to pursue further his astronomical studies. Among the first practical results of his activities in this field we have his correction table for readings with the Jacob staff. The death of his uncle in the year 1565 occasioned his return to his native country, but Germany offering him special opportunities for continued study in his favorite field, we soon find him in Wittenberg, later in Rostock, where in a quarrel with a peasant he lost part of his nose and thereafter to the end of his days wore a silver substitute. In 1567 we find him in Lauingen engaged in the study of astronomy with the distinguished Cyprian Leowitz, in 1568 in Basel with Peter Ramus, and for two years thereafter in Augsburg with the brothers Johan and Paul Hainzel, with whom he constructed a large quadrant having a radius of seventeen and one half feet. While in Augsburg it appears that he began the construction of a celestial globe four feet in diameter, but there is some uncertainty as to his completion of this work. A short but unhappy sojourn in his native town followed his years of congenial study in Germany, and we soon learn of his visit to the observatory of Landgraf Wilhelm of Cassel, an event of great significance for him. His travels carried him to other cities of Germany, including the city of Regensburg, where he witnessed the coronation of the Emperor Rudolf II. Landgraf Wilhelm, a Maecenas of wide repute in his day, had been greatly impressed with the abilities of Tycho, and he urged upon the Danish King Frederick that he should make suitable provision for the further astronomical studies of his distinguished subject, which suggestion the King generously met. In the year 1575 the documents were signed and sealed granting to Tycho full possession for life of the little Island of Hveen, lying between Seeland and Schonen; in addition he was furnished with all the means necessary for the erection of an observatory and the adequate equipment of the same (Fig. [76]). The Uranienburg, as his observatory was called,[355] became a great center for astronomical studies, and students came to him from various European lands, among these being Arnold van Langren, Willem Jansz. Blaeu, and Longomontanus (Christian Severin of Longberg). The death of his patron, King Frederick II, in the year 1588 brought misfortune to Tycho, in so far as his life and studies on the Island of Hveen were concerned, since the succeeding ruler, Christian IV, was but little interested in the further promotion of astronomical science. Enduring court intrigue for nine years, he determined, in the year 1597, to leave the scenes of his remarkable successes, and after a brief sojourn with Count Henry of Ranzau near Hamburg, he accepted an invitation from the Emperor Rudolf II to become imperial astronomer and counselor at Prague. Thither he went with his family in the year 1599, at the same time taking with him those astronomical instruments which had served him in his studies in the northern island home. While preparations were under way for the erection of a new observatory for him he died in the year 1601. From Tycho’s heirs the Emperor Rudolf purchased his instruments and manuscripts, the latter passing into the hands of Kepler, his successor at the Imperial Court, but as to the fate of his instruments little seems to be known. Kästner tells us that in 1619, during an uprising in the city of Prague, some of these were destroyed while others were carried away, and at present only an iron quadrant, once in his observatory, remains in that city.