Ruđer Josip Bošković

Ruđer Josip Bošković ( French: Roger Joseph Boskovich , Italian: Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich , Latin: Rogerius Josephus Boscovich ) (18 May 1711 – 13 February 1787) was a theologian, physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, diplomat, poet, Jesuit, and a polymath[1] from the city of Dubrovnik in the Republic of Ragusa (today in Croatia), who studied and lived in Italy and France.[2]

He is famous for his atomic theory and made many important contributions to astronomy, including the first geometric procedure for determining the equator of a rotating planet from three observations of a surface feature and for computing the orbit of a planet from three observations of its position. In 1753 he also discovered the absence of atmosphere on the Moon.[3]

Contents

• 1 Biography
  • 1.1 Early years
  • 1.2 Middle years
  • 1.3 Late years
• 2 Further works
• 3 Legacy
• 4 Competing claims for Bošković's nationality
• 5 Names in other languages
• 6 Works
• 7 References
• 8 Further reading