Christine Kirch (1696 in

Guben Guben (Polish language, Polish and Sorbian languages, Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the States of Germany, state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße Districts of German ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

– 6 May 1782), was a German astronomer.

Life

She was the daughter of the astronomers

Gottfried Kirch Gottfried Kirch (; also KircheKenneth Glyn Jones, ''The Search for the Nebulae'', Alpha Academic, 1975, p. 19. , Kirkius; 18 December 1639 – 25 July 1710) was a German astronomer and the first "Astronomer Royal" in Berlin and, as such, director ...

and

Maria Margarethe Kirch Maria Margaretha Kirch (''née'' Winckelmann, in historic sources named Maria Margaretha Kirchin; 25 February 1670 – 29 December 1720) was a German astronomer. She was one of the first famous astronomers of her period due to her writing on ...

and the sister of Christfried Kirch. She and her sister Margaretha Kirch were educated in astronomy from the age of ten. As a child Kirch assisted her parents in their astronomical observations. Reportedly the young Kirch was responsible for taking time of observations by using a

pendulum A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...

. As she became older Kirch was instructed in calculating calendars. She assisted first her mother and later her brother in calculating various calendars. Until 1740 Kirch did not receive a salary for her contributions, but benefitted from small donations to her from the Berlin Academy of Sciences. Following the death of her brother Christfried the academy relied on her for assistance in calculating calendars. She took responsibility for calculating the calendar for

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, a province Prussia conquered in the early 1740s. The academy had a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

on calendars and the Silesia calendar generated significant income for the academy. Thus in 1776 Kirch received a respectable salary of 400 Thaler from the academy. Kirch continued her calendar work for the academy up to her old age and was held in great esteem. At the age of 77 the academy elevated her to the status of

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

, and she continued to receive a salary from the academy without being obliged to work. She introduced the astronomer

Johann Bode Johann Elert Bode (; 19 January 1747 – 23 November 1826) was a German astronomer known for his reformulation and popularisation of the Titius–Bode law. Bode determined the orbit of Uranus and suggested the planet's name. Life and career Bo ...

to calendar making. She died in 1782 as a respected astronomer.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirch, Christine 1696 births 1782 deaths People from Guben 18th-century German astronomers German women astronomers German women scientists 18th-century German women scientists