Bernard Wapowski

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Bernard Wapowski (1450 – November 25, 1535) was a historian and the leading Polish cartographer of the 16th century, known as "the father of Polish cartography."

Life

Wapowski was born near Przemyśl at the family's village of Wapowce (hence his surname, the adjective formed from the village's name).

In 1526 Wapowski was serving as secretary to the King of Poland when Nicolaus Copernicus assisted him in mapping the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.[1]

In 1535, Bernard Wapowski wrote a letter to a gentleman in Vienna urging him to publish an enclosed almanac, which he claimed was written by Copernicus. This is the first and only mention of a Copernicus almanac in the historical records. The almanac was likely Copernicus's tables of planetary positions. The Wapowski letter mentions Copernicus's theory about the motions of the earth. Nothing came of Wapowski's request because he died a couple of weeks later.[2]

See also

  • List of Poles

Notes

  1. ↑ Nicolaus Copernicus
  2. ↑ Repcheck, Jack (2007). Copernicus' Secret. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 79, 78, 184, 186. ISBN 978-0-7432-8951-1. 

External links

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