Erasmus Reinhold

Erasmus Reinhold (1511 to 1553) was a German astronomer and mathematician, regarded as the most influential teacher of astronomy of his generation. Born and died in Saalfeld in Saxony, he studied under Jacob Milich at the University of Wittenberg, was elected dean and later rector there, and was appointed professor of higher mathematics in 1536 at the suggestion of Philipp Melanchthon. He catalogued many stars and wrote a commentary on Georg Purbach Theoricae novae planetarum. Although he knew Copernicus and praised him, he translated the Copernican methods back into a geocentric system and rejected heliocentrism on physical and theological grounds. His Prutenic Tables, printed with the support of Duke Albert of Prussia, spread Copernican calculation methods across Europe and helped underpin the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582. A lunar crater carries his name.