Zacharias Stopius (; 1535late 16th or early 17th century) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

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

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. 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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

in 1570. His daughter Catharina Stopia 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 () 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 continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...

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

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

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

Wilhelm von Brandenburg Wilhelm von Brandenburg (30 June 1498 – 4 February 1563) was a Latvian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Riga from 1539 to 1561. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, Wilhelm was the son of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansba ...

. 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 was a duchy in the Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominal vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of the Polish Kingdo ...

Gotthard Kettler Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler''; ; ; ; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order from 1559 to 1561 and the first Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, Duke of Courland and Semigallia f ...

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

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

. 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, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. In 1570, he was

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

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 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 ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

. 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 heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

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 celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

. Furthermore, he wrote a treatise on

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

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

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

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 went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

, 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 Catharina Stopia 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 nobility 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