Regiomontano

Regiomontano, usually known in English as Regiomontanus, is the Latinized name of Johannes Müller von Königsberg (1436–1476), a German mathematician and astronomer. The epithet Regiomontanus derives from Regio Montanus, Latin for “from König(s)berg,” the Latin rendering of Königsberg, his birthplace.

Life and work: Müller studied at several universities, including Leipzig and Vienna, and later became associated with courts in Central Europe as a mathematician and astrologer. In 1471 he moved to Nuremberg, where he worked with local printers and scholars to publish his mathematical and astronomical writings. He is best known for De triangulis omnimodis (On Triangles in All Ways), a foundational treatise on trigonometry written around 1464 that systematized plane and spherical trigonometry and introduced methods and tables still relevant to navigators and scientists. He also produced influential astronomical tables and ephemerides that advanced the calculation of celestial positions and eclipses, disseminated widely in late 15th and early 16th centuries.

Legacy: Regiomontanus is credited with helping to anchor the shift toward modern mathematical astronomy in Renaissance Europe. His emphasis on trigonometry and precise astronomical calculations influenced later astronomers, including Copernicus. The lunar crater Regiomontanus commemorates his contributions to science. In modern texts, Regiomontano is the Italian or Spanish form used to refer to the same figure.