TITLE: Hevelius,
Catherina Elisabetha Koopman
DATES AND PLACES OF
BIRTH AND DEATH:
Born: 1646
Died: 1697
Nationality: German/Poland
BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS:
Father: Rich merchant.
Married: 1663: Johannes Hevelius, one year after death of first wife of Johannes.
Children: Three daughters, who all lived to maturity.
Education: Unusually well educated for a woman of the era.
Publications: After the death of Johannes, Elisabetha edited many of his unpublished writings.
Brief Biography:
At about age 16, Elisabetha married Johannes Hevelius, who had been widowed the year before. There was a difference in age of 36 years between them.
Unusually well educated for a woman of the era, Elisabetha was of considerable assistance to Johannes in the operation of his observatory in Danzig. Two plates of Machina coelestis show Elisabetha aiding her husband in the observatory.
Elisabetha served as hostess, when Johannes entertained other astronomers of the era, the most noted being Edmund Halley.
After her husband's death, she edited many of his unpublished writings.
ASTRONOMICAL
CONTRIBUTION AND SIGNIFICANCE:
Provided great assistance in the operation of Hevelius' observatory.
Edited many of the unpublished works of Hevelius, after his death.
HISTORIOGRAPHY:
AUTHOR AND AUTHOR
AFFILIATION:
Glenn A. Walsh, free-lance writer and Internet web page designer. Former Planetarium Lecturer and Astronomical Observatory Coordinator, Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science, Pittsburgh. Former Treasurer and Trustee, Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Carnegie, Pa. The author can be contacted by electronic mail:
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