Michael Maestlin (German: [ˈmɛstliːn]; also Mästlin, Möstlin, or Moestlin; 30 September 1550 – 26 October 1631) was a German astronomer and mathematician, best known as the mentor of Johannes Kepler. A student of Philipp Apian, Maestlin is recognized as the teacher who had the greatest influence on Kepler. He is regarded as one of the most significant astronomers of the period between Copernicus and Kepler.He was the first to write a decimal approximation of the Golden ratio.
Early life and family Maestlin was born on 30 September 1550 in Göppingen, a small town in southern Germany located about 50 kilometers east of Tübingen. The son of Jakob Maestlin and Dorothea Simon, he was born into a Protestant family. Maestlin had an older sister named Elisabeth and a younger brother named Matthäus. His family’s original surname was Leckher or Legecker, and they lived in the village of Boll, a few kilometers south of Göppingen. In his autobiography, Maestlin recounts how the family name Legecker was changed to Mästlin. He explains that one of his ancestors received the nickname after an old blind woman touched him and exclaimed, "Wie bist du doch so mast und feist! Du bist ein rechter Mästlin!" This roughly translates to, "How are you so large and plump? You are truly a fatso!" Maestlin married Margarete Grüniger on 9 April 1577. While little information is available about his children from this marriage, it is known that he had at least three sons—Ludwig, Michael, and Johann Georg—and at least three daughters—Margareta, Dorothea Ursula, and Anna Maria. In 1588, Margarete died at the age of 37, possibly due to complications from childbirth. This untimely loss left several children under Maestlin's care and may have influenced his decision to remarry the following year. In 1589, Maestlin married Margarete Burkhardt. Together, they had eight children. In a letter to Johannes Kepler written that same year, Maestlin shared how deeply troubled he was by the death of his month-old son, August.
Education In 1565, at around 15 years of age, Maestlin was sent to the nearby Klosterschule in Königsbronn. In 1567, he transferred to a similar school in Herrenalb. After completing his education there, Maestlin enrolled at the University of Tübingen, matriculating on 3 December 1568. In 1569, he entered the university as a recipient of a scholarship from the Duke of Württemberg. Maestlin studied theology at the Tübinger Stift, an elite educational institution founded in 1536 by Duke Ulrich von Württemberg. He earned his Baccalaureate in 1569 and his master's degree in 1571. After obtaining his master's degree, Maestlin remained at the university as both a theology student and a tutor in the seminary church in Württemberg. Letters concerning Maestlin’s academic qualifications reveal that he graduated summa cum laude, ranking third in a graduating class of twenty. During his studies, Maestlin was taught by Philipp Apian, though the exact courses he took remain uncertain. It is believed Apian taught topics such as Frisius's Arithmetic, Euclid's Elements, Proclus's Sphera, Peurbach's Theoricae Novae Planetarus, and the use of geodetic instruments. Apian’s teachings appear to have influenced Maestlin’s work, particularly his paper on sundials, which includes structured elements of celestial globes and maps. In 1584, Maestlin was appointed Professor of Mathematics at the University of Tübingen. He served as Dean of the Arts Faculty during the following terms: 1588–89, 1594–95, 1600–01, 1607–09, 1610–11, 1615, 1623, and 1629. Maestlin primarily taught trigonometry and astronomy, and it is highly likely that he used his book, Epitome Astronomiae, as a reference in his lectures. In 1576, Maestlin was appointed as a deacon at the Lutheran church in Backnang, a town about 30 kilometers northwest of Göppingen. While there, he observed the comet of 1577. Tycho Brahe, observing the same comet from Denmark, used parallax measurements to determine that the comet was located beyond the Moon, contradicting the astronomical theories of Aristotle and Ptolemy. Maestlin independently arrived at a similar conclusion and, within the framework of the Copernican system, proposed that the comet resided in a region between the spheres of Venus and the Earth-Moon system. From 1577 to 1580, Maestlin also served as the chief scientific adviser to the Duke of Württemberg.
Career
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