Joseph Stepling (29 June 1716 − 11 July 1778) was a

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest, astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. Stepling founded the Clementinum Observatory in Prague in 1751 fitted with the best instruments available in that period, some made by Jan Klein. The earliest instrumental meteorological observations in central Europe were made at this observatory. The minor planet 6540 Stepling is named in his honour. Stepling was born in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

and after the death of his father who came from Westphalia and worked at the Imperial Embassy at

Ratisbon Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, his mother moved to her home in Prague. He attended the local Jesuit school and joined the order in 1733. He took an interest in mathematics and astronomy from the teachings of Father Sykora and took a special interest during the lunar eclipse of March 28, 1733 which he had been able to predict. He was influenced into further studies by the mathematician

Ignatz Mühlwenzel Ignatz Heinrich Mühlwenzel (c. 1690 – 11 July 1766) was a Bohemian mathematician. Life Ignatz Heinrich Mühlwenzel (referred to in ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' as ''Heinrich Mühlwenzel'')''Biographisches Lexiko ...

. He taught at the Gymnasiums of Klodzko and Swidnica from 1738 to 1741. Empress Maria Theresa appointed him faculty at Prague. In 1753 he taught mathematics and physics at the Charles-Ferdinand University, following the ideas of Isaac Newton, Christian Wolff, and Euler rather than Aristotle. He founded a study group along the lines of the Royal Society of London and conducted monthly meetings presiding over them until his death and influencing numerous young scientists including Johann Wendlingen, Jakob Heinisch, Antonin Strnad, Johannes von Herberstein, Kaspar Sagner, Stephan Schmidt, Johann Körber, and Joseph Bergmann. Some of the oldest series of temperatures used in climate change studies come from the Clementinum observatory.

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Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepling, Joseph 1716 births 1778 deaths 18th-century mathematicians Czech astronomers Academic staff of Charles University Jesuit scientists