Zacharias Stopius ( lv, Zahārijs Stopijs; 1535late 16th or early 17th century) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

medical doctor, astronomer and astrologer, mainly active in present-day

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. He was ennobled by the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

in 1570. His daughter

Catharina Stopia Catharina Stopia (died after 2 April 1657) was the first female diplomat in Sweden, and Sweden's first ambassador to Russia during her tenure in office 1632–1634. Stopia's father was the city doctor of Riga, Zacharias Stopius. In 1620, she ma ...

was one of the first female diplomats in the service of Sweden.

Career

Zacharias Stopius came from Breslau, then Silesia, now Wrocław in present-day Poland, and was enrolled in the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in contine ...

in 1559. He doctored in medicine, and subsequently found employment in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

. There, he entered the service of the Archbishop of Riga,

Wilhelm von Brandenburg Wilhelm von Brandenburg (30 June 1498 – 4 February 1563) was the Archbishop of Riga from 1539 to 1561. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Wilhelm was the son of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, the brother of Albert, Duke of ...

. He became city doctor of Riga in 1562, and in 1567 also entered into the service of the

Duke of Courland and Semigallia The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

Gotthard Kettler Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler'', german: Gotthard Kettler, Herzog von Kurland; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia. Biography ...

as his personal physician. He consequently moved from Riga to the court of the duke in

Jelgava Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also #Name, other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the unit ...

. However, he retained his position as city physician of Riga until 1585. As a medical doctor he had a good reputation among the nobility, and also attended the royal court of Poland in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

. In 1570, he was

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first rule ...

. He received several donations of land throughout his career and established an estate, Stopiushof, outside Riga, which has given its name to the current Stopiņi Municipality. The current

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

of the municipality also incorporates elements from the coat of arms of Stopius. Apart from his medical practice, Stopius also published works on

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

and

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

. Furthermore, he wrote a treatise on

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

, ''Liefländiſchen Oekonomie'', which however was never printed but contains, i.a., instructions of how to construct

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a fl ...

s. He was also involved in the politics of his time. During a period of civil unrest between 1584 and 1589, arising over a conflict concerning the adoption of the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years di ...

, Stopius acted as a negotiator between the city council and the population of the city.

Personal life

Stopius was married twice: in 1563 he married Anna Drobe, daughter of a burgher of Riga, and in 1574 he married Anna Ingenover, also the daughter of a burgher in Riga. He had eight children, though it is not known which children were born from which marriage. His daughter

entered Swedish service and was the first woman to serve as a diplomat of Sweden. His son, also named Zacharias Stopius, became personal physician to the king of Poland.

References

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stopius, Zacharias Baltic-German people University of Rostock alumni Latvian physicians 16th-century Polish nobility Physicians from Wrocław Latvian astronomers 16th-century births Physicians from Riga 16th-century German physicians