Jan Marek Marci | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 13 June 1595 |
| Died | 10 April 1667 (1667-04-11) (aged 71)[1] Prague, Bohemia |
| Alma mater | University of Olomouc,Olomouc Charles University,Prague |
| Family |  Marci |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Medicine, mechanics, optics, mathematics |
| Institutions | Charles University,Prague |
Jan Marek MarciFRS, also known asJohannes Marcus Marci (German:Johannes Marcus Marci de Cronland; 13 June 1595 – 10 April 1667) was a Czech physician and scientist. He was the rector of theUniversity of Prague and official physician to the Holy Roman Emperors.[2] The craterMarci on thefar side of the Moon is named after him.
Marci was born on 13 June 1595[1] inLanškroun, near the border between thehistorical lands Bohemia andMoravia (presently parts of theCzech Republic). He studied underAthanasius Kircher[2] and spent most of his career as a professor ofCharles University inPrague, where he served for over thirty years as a professor of medicine,[1] eight times as Dean of the medical school and once as rector in 1662. He was also the personal doctor of emperorsFerdinand III andLeopold I, and distinguished himself in the defense of Prague against theSwedish armies in 1648. In October 1654 he was given the nobility title (falckrabě) "de Kronland" (anagram of "Landskron",German name for the city of Lanškroun). It is contested whether Marci was a member of theRoyal Society. Some claim that he was elected as a corresponding member in 1667.[2] Other dispute this and argue that a Fellowship was not granted due to his death in this year.[3] Unlike in the legend spread byJesuit order,[4] he did not join the Jesuit order shortly before his death.[5][6]
Marci's studies covered the mechanics of colliding bodies, epilepsy, and the refraction of light, as well as other topics. Prior to Marci, the prevailingtheory of color assumed that light was modified by the action of a medium to produce color. Most theories were based upon the assumption that color was simply a modification of light varying between whiteness and blackness. Marci precededIsaac Newton in his belief that "Light is not changed into colors except by a certain refraction in a dense medium; and the diverse species of colors are the products of refraction."[7] Although he thought that different colors were caused by varying angles of incidence across the 1/2 degree apparent diameter of the sun, he stated that each color was condensed or disentangled from the others after refraction into homogeneous or elementary colors of red, green, blue and purple, and that no further change in color was obtained by additional refraction of elementary colors.[8]
Marci at some time came into possession of theVoynich Manuscript, apparently upon the death of its former owner, the alchemistGeorg Baresch. He sent the book to his longtime friendAthanasius Kircher, with a cover letter dated 19 August 1666, or possibly 1665.[2] This cover letter has remained intact and was present when the manuscript was obtained byWilfrid Voynich.
He is remembered today by the award of an annual medal to distinguished scientists by the Slovak-Czech Spectroscopy Society.
A bibliography of Marci is provided by Heinrich Wilhelm Rotermund.[9]
