Samuel Mikovíny

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Portrait of Sámuel Mikoviny by Sebestyén Zeller with the map of Hungary in his hand and the Castle of Bratislava in the background. Inscription: "O Cara Patria quae me genuisti, dulcis Panonia" - "Oh, my sweet homeland, who gave me birth, Pannonia"

Samuel Mikovíny (Slovak, also spelled Mikovini or Mikovíni), Mikoviny Sámuel (Hungarian) (1686, Turíčky, now Cinobaňa? or c. 1700, Ábelová?) -23 March 1750) was a renowned mathematician, engineer, map maker, and professor. He was a leading representative of science and technology in the 18th century Kingdom of Hungary and the Habsburg Empire. Today he is the pride of both the Slovak and the Hungarian nation.

[edit] Biography

He learnt engraving at Nuremberg, and studied mathematics at the nearby university in Altdorf and later in Jena. He probably took private lessons in astronomy and surveying in Vienna before he returned to Bratislava (called Pressburg or Pozsony at that time).

In Nuremberg, he showed that he was a good engraver and a gifted artist. His series of engravings, views of Altdorf and Nuremberg was published in a booklet of Altdorf in 1723. The publication also included a map of the district. From 1725, he was county engineer in Bratislava, in the Kingdom of Hungary . He devoted most of his attention to improvement works, especially anti-flood works on the banks of the river Danube and Váh, work to secure their navigability, and regulation work near Tata. He also concerned himself with astronomy at an observatory which he had established at his home in present-day Laurinská Street in Bratislava. His astronomical observations served map-making.

Mikovini made a significant contribution to the making of a new map of the Kingdom of Hungary. He relied on his own measurements and used a scientific method, based on four basic principles: astronomical, geometrical, magnetic, and hydrographic. His work was significantly influenced by another renowned Slovak scholar of the 18th century living in the multi-ethnic Kingdom of Hungary, Matthias Belius (Matej Bel).

Earlier Mikovini engraved a map of Demänovská Cave and several illustrations for Bel’s book Hungariae antiquae et novae prodromus (Messenger of Old and New Hungary), published in 1723in Nuremberg. From 1731 Mikovini constructed county maps for Bel’s great work, Notitia Hungariae Novae Historico-Geographica. Mikovini created the first topographical maps of individual counties of the Kingdom of Hungary. He also contributed to the work with illustrations, especially views of towns and castles. Mikovini used his own prime meridian for the Kingdom of Hungary, the meridianus Posoniensis passed through the northeast tower of Bratislava Castle.

He made a significant contribution to the development of mining in Upper Hungary, today central Slovakia, helping it to achieve a place among the most technically developed in Europe at that time. He was a leading expert on the construction of reservoirs, mining machinery, foundries, and mills. He made maps and plans of mines, and led the planning and construction of a system of reservoirs for mining purposes in Banská Štiavnica. From 1735, he was the first professor of the school of mining at Banská Štiavnica, which later became the first technical university in Europe. He lectured on mathematics, mechanics, hydraulics, and surveying methods and supervised practical work in land and mine surveying.

From 1735, he was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. He also worked as an engineer and builder of roads and bridges. During the Austro-Prussian war, Empress Maria Theresia employed him as a military engineer. He designed and built defensive and fortification works on the Moravian-Silesian frontier. In 1748, he carried out regulation work in the area of Komárno, and at the time devoted attention to archaeological research. He studied and described the remains of the Roman fortress of Brigetio in Szőny, and made a plan of it. Various buildings were erected according to his plans. In 1749, he prepared plans for construction of a royal palace in Buda, and carried out preparation of the castle hill and construction of water treatment works for it. In 1750, he carried out anti-flooding works on the river Vah. During the works, he became ill and died on March 23rd 1750 at a now unknown place on the road from Trenčín to Banská Štiavnica.