Niels Steensen (Danish:Niels Steensen;Latinized toNicolas Steno[b] orNicolaus Stenonius;[c][8] 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686[9][10][NS: 11 January 1638 – 5 December 1686][9]) was aDanishscientist, a pioneer in bothanatomy andgeology who became aCatholic bishop in his later years. He has beenbeatified by the Catholic Church.
Steensen was trained in the classical texts on science; however, by 1659 he seriously questioned accepted knowledge of the natural world.[11] Importantly he questioned explanations for tear production, the idea that fossils grew in the ground and explanations of rock formation. His investigations and his subsequent conclusions on fossils and rock formation have led scholars to consider him one of the founders of modernstratigraphy and modern geology.[12][13] The importance of Steensen's foundational contributions to geology may be gauged from the fact that half of the twenty papers in a recent miscellany volume onThe Revolution in Geology from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment focus on Steensen, the "preeminent Baroquepolymath and founder of modern geologic thought".[14]
Born to aLutheran family, Steensen converted to Catholicism in 1667. After his conversion, his interest in the natural sciences rapidly waned giving way to his interest in theology.[15] At the beginning of 1675, he decided to become a priest. Four months later, he wasordained in the Catholic clergy on Easter Sunday in 1675. As a clergyman, he was later appointedVicar Apostolic of Nordic Missions andTitular Bishop of Titopolis byPope Innocent XI. Steensen played an active role in theCounter-Reformation in Northern Germany.
Niels Steensen was born inCopenhagen on New Year's Day 1638 (Julian calendar), the son of aLutherangoldsmith who worked regularly for KingChristian IV of Denmark. He became ill at age three, suffering from an unknown disease, and grew up in isolation during his childhood. In 1644 his father died, after which his mother married another goldsmith. In 1654–1655, 240 pupils of his school died due to theplague. Across the street livedPeder Schumacher (who would offer Steensen a post as professor in Copenhagen in 1671). At the age of 19, Steensen entered theUniversity of Copenhagen to pursue medical studies.[18] After completing his university education, Steensen set out to travel through Europe; in fact, he would be on the move for the rest of his life. In the Netherlands, France, Italy and Germany he came into contact with prominent physicians and scientists. These influences led him to use his own powers of observation to make important scientific discoveries.
During his stay in Amsterdam, Steensen discovered a previously undescribed structure, the "ductus Stenonis" (the duct of theparotid salivary gland) in sheep, dog and rabbit heads. A dispute with Blasius over credit for the discovery arose, but Steensen's name remained associated with this structure known today as theStensen's duct.[24] In Leiden, Steensen studied the boiledheart of a cow, and determined that it was an ordinarymuscle.[25][26] and not the center of warmth asGalenus and Descartes believed.[27] InFlorence, Steensen focused on themuscular system and the nature ofmuscle contraction. He became a member ofAccademia del Cimento and had long discussions withFrancesco Redi. LikeVincenzo Viviani, Steensen proposed a geometrical model of muscles to show that a contracting muscle changes its shape but not itsvolume.[28][29]
Elementorum myologiae specimen: Illustration from Steensen's 1667 paper comparing the teeth of a shark head with a fossil tooth.
In October 1666, two fishermen caught a huge femaleshark near the town ofLivorno, andFerdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, ordered its head to be sent to Steensen. Steensendissected the head and published his findings in 1667. He noted that theshark's teeth bore a striking resemblance to certain stony objects, found embedded within rock formations, that his learned contemporaries were callingglossopetrae or "tongue stones". Ancient authorities, such as theRoman authorPliny the Elder, in hisNaturalis Historia, had suggested that these stones fell from the sky or from theMoon. Others were of the opinion, also following ancient authors, thatfossils naturally grew in the rocks. Steensen's contemporaryAthanasius Kircher, for example, attributed fossils to a "lapidifying virtue diffused through the whole body of the geocosm", considered an inherent characteristic of the earth – anAristotelian approach.Fabio Colonna, however, had already shown by burning the material to show thatglossopetrae were organic matter (limestone) rather than soil minerals,[30] in his treatiseDe glossopetris dissertatio published in 1616.[31][32] Steensen added to Colonna's theory a discussion on the differences in composition between glossopetrae and living sharks' teeth, arguing that the chemical composition of fossils could be altered without changing their form, using the contemporarycorpuscular theory of matter.
Steensen's work on shark teeth led him to the question of how any solid object could come to be found inside another solid object, such as a rock or a layer of rock. The "solid bodies within solids" that attracted Steensen's interest included not only fossils, as we would define them today, but minerals, crystals, encrustations, veins, and even entire rock layers orstrata. He published his geologic studies inDe solido intra solidum naturaliter contento dissertationis prodromus, orPreliminary discourse to a dissertation on a solid body naturally contained within a solid in 1669. This book was his last scientific work of note.[33][d] Steensen was not the first to identify fossils as being from living organisms; his contemporaryRobert Hooke also argued that fossils were the remains of once-living organisms.[35]
Steensen, in hisDissertationis prodromus of 1669 is credited with four of the defining principles of the science ofstratigraphy. His words were:
thelaw of superposition: "At the time when a given stratum was being formed, there was beneath it another substance which prevented the further descent of the comminuted matter and so at the time when the lowest stratum was being formed either another solid substance was beneath it, or if some fluid existed there, then it was not only of a different character from the upper fluid, but also heavier than the solid sediment of the upper fluid."
theprinciple of original horizontality: "At the time when one of the upper strata was being formed, the lower stratum had already gained the consistency of a solid."
theprinciple of lateral continuity: "At the time when any given stratum was being formed it was either encompassed on its sides by another solid substance, or it covered the entire spherical surface of the earth. Hence it follows that in whatever place the bared sides of the strata are seen, either a continuation of the same strata must be sought, or another solid substance must be found which kept the matter of the strata from dispersion."
Further information on crystallographic indices:Crystal system
Steensen gave the first accurate observations on a type of crystal in his 1669 bookDe solido intra solidum naturaliter contento (theDissertationis prodromus).[38] The principle incrystallography, known simply asSteensen's law, or thelaw of constancy of interfacial angles or thefirst law of crystallography,[39] states that the angles between corresponding faces on crystals are the same for all specimens of the same mineral. Steensen's seminal work paved the way for thelaw of rational indices of French mineralogistRené-Just Haüy in 1801.[38][40] This fundamental breakthrough formed the basis of all subsequent inquiries intocrystal structure.
Steensen's questioning mind also influenced his religious views. Having been brought up in theLutheran faith, he nevertheless questioned its teachings, something which became a burning issue when confronted withCatholicism while studying inFlorence. After making comparative theological studies, including reading the Church Fathers and by using his natural observational skills, he decided that Catholicism, rather than Lutheranism, provided more sustenance for his constant inquisitiveness. In 1667, Steensen converted to Catholicism onAll Souls' Day, influenced, among others, by Lavinia Cenami Arnolfini, a noblewoman ofLucca.[41][42]
Fair is what we see, Fairer what we have perceived, Fairest what is still in veil.[43]
It is not clear if he metNicolaes Witsen, but he did read Witsen's book on shipbuilding. In 1671 he accepted the post of professor of anatomy in the University of Copenhagen,[22] but promisedCosimo III de' Medici he would return when he was appointed tutor toFerdinando III de' Medici.
In the year after he was made bishop, he was probably involved in the banning of publications byBaruch Spinoza,.[45] There he had talks withGottfried Leibniz, the librarian; the two argued about Spinoza and his letter toAlbert Burgh, then Steensen's pupil.[46] Leibniz recommended a reunification of the churches. Steensen worked at the city ofHannover until 1680.
In 1683, Steensen resigned as auxiliary bishop after an argument about the election of the new bishop,Maximilian Henry of Bavaria and moved in 1684 toHamburg.[41] There Steensen became involved again in the study of the brain and the nerve system with an old friendDirck Kerckring.[47] Steensen was invited toSchwerin, when it became clear he was not accepted in Hamburg. Steensen dressed like a poor man in an old cloak. He drove in an open carriage in snow and rain. Living four days a week on bread and beer, he became emaciated.[e] When Steensen had fulfilled his mission, some years of difficult tasks, he wanted to go back to Italy.
Before he could return, Steensen became severely ill, his belly swelling day by day. Steensen died in Germany, after much suffering. His corpse was shipped to Florence by Kerckring upon request ofCosimo III de' Medici and buried in theBasilica of San Lorenzo close to his protectors, theDe' Medici family.[7] In 1946 his grave was opened,[48] and the corpse was reburied after a procession through the streets of the city.[49]
After his death in 1686, Steensen was venerated as a saint in thediocese of Hildesheim.[7] Steensen's piety and virtue have been evaluated with a view to an eventualcanonization. His canonization process was begun inOsnabrück in 1938.[7] In 1953 his grave in the crypt of the church of San Lorenzo was opened as part of the beatification process.[50] His corpse was transferred to a fourth-century Christian sarcophagus found in the riverArno donated by the Italian state. His remains were placed in a lateral chapel of the church that received the name of"Capella Stenoniana".[7][50] He wasbeatified byPope John Paul II in 1988. His feast day is 5 December.[7]
TheSteno Medal, awarded by the Geological Society of Denmark, honors prominent geologists who have made significant contributions to Danish and Greenland geology, and is named in his honor.[52]
^Friedrich von Tietzen, called Schlüter (1626–1696).[1]
^Steno took his surname from his father's given name. In accordance with the academic customs of his time, Nicolas latinized the Danish form of his name Niels Ste(e)nsen as Nicolaus Stenonis. The English form,Steno, is due to an error in parsing the Latin.
^Also known as Nikolaus or Nils Steensen, Stens.[7]
^Leibnitz came to know and esteem Steensen in Hannover and expressed deep regrets that he had abandoned his earlier studies.[34]
^On the other days there were never more than four courses plus a dessert, even though noblemen from the court often dined with him.
^Janker, Stephan M. (1990).Die Bischöfe des Heiligen Römischen Reiches : ein biographisches Lexikon (in German). Berlin: Duncker und Humblot. p. 516.ISBN978-3-428-06763-3.
^Gary D. Rosenberg (ed.),The Revolution in Geology from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment (Geological Society of America Memoir 203) (Boulder, Colorado, 2009), p. vii.
^Breve storia della paleontologia, internet site of Centro dei Musei di Scienze Naturali, university of Naples Retrieved 10 January 2012.
^Abbona (2002), Geologia: Colonna had been schooled in the collection ofFerrante Imperato, apothecary andvirtuoso of Naples, who published his natural history notes in 1599.
^Romano, Marco (2014). "'The vain speculation disillusioned by the sense': The Italian painter Agostino Scilla (1629–1700) called 'The Discoloured', and the correct interpretation of fossils as 'lithified organisms' that once lived in the sea".Historical Biology.26 (5):631–651.Bibcode:2014HBio...26..631R.doi:10.1080/08912963.2013.825257.S2CID129381561.
^Nicolai Stenonis epistolae et epistolae ad eum datae quas cum prooemio ac notis germanice scriptis edidit Gustav Scherz. Volume 2, page 997. Kopenhagen und Freiburg, Nordisk Forlag und Herder, 1952.
Abbona, Francesco (2002)."Geologia". In Strumia, Alberto; Tanzella-Nitti, Giuseppe (eds.).Dizionario Interdisciplinare di Scienza e Fede : Cultura Scientifica, Filosofia e Teologia. Città del Vaticano: Urbaniana University Press.ISBN978-88-311-9265-1. Retrieved12 January 2012. (Pontifical University of the Holy Cross,Opus Dei)
Andrault, Raphaële (2010). "Mathématiser l'anatomie: La myologie de Stensen (1667)".Early Science and Medicine (in French).15 (4):505–536.doi:10.1163/157338210X516305.PMID21469295.
Cheney, David M (9 October 2022)."Bishop Bl. Niels Stensen".Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved11 January 2012.
Cutler, Alan (2003).The Seashell on the Mountaintop: A Story of Science, Sainthood, and the Humble Genius Who Discovered a New History of the Earth. New York: Dutton.ISBN978-0-525-94708-0.
Garrett Winter, John (1916)."Introduction – the Life of Steno".The prodromus of Nicolaus Steno's dissertation: concerning a solid body enclosed by progress of nature within a solid – an English version with an introduction and explanatory notes. Macmillan. pp. 175–187. (Public Domain)
Israel, Jonathan I. (2002).Radical enlightenment — philosophy and the making of modernity 1650–1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-925456-9.
Kardel, Troels (1990). "Niels Stensen's geometrical theory of muscle contraction (1667): A reappraisal".Journal of Biomechanics.23 (10):953–65.doi:10.1016/0021-9290(90)90310-Y.PMID2229093.
Kermit, Hans (2002)."The Life of Niels Stensen". In Ascani, Karen; Kermit, Hans; Skytte, Gunver (eds.).Niccolò Stenone (1638–1686) : anatomista, geologo, vescovo; atti del seminario organizzato da Universitetsbiblioteket i Tromsø e l'Accademia de Danimarca, lunedì 23 ottobre 2000. Roma: "L'Erma" di Bretschneider.ISBN978-88-8265-213-5. Retrieved10 January 2012.
Scherz, G. (2002). "Stensen, Niels, Bl.". In Catholic University of America (ed.).The New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13 – Seq to The. Catholic University Press/Thomas Gale. pp. 508–509.ISBN978-0-7876-4017-0.
Tubbs, R. Shane; Gianaris, Nicholas; Shoja, Mohammadali M.; Loukas, Marios; Cohen Gadol, Aaron A. (2010). ""The heart is simply a muscle" and first description of the tetralogy of "Fallot". Early contributions to cardiac anatomy and pathology by bishop and anatomist Niels Stensen (1638–1686)".International Journal of Cardiology.154 (3):312–5.doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2010.09.055.PMID20965586.
Tertsch, H. (1958): Niels Stensen und die Kristallographie. Acta historica Scientiarum Naturalium et Medicinalium, Copenhagen, 15, 120–139 (in German).
Rosenberg, Gary D. (ed.),The Revolution in Geology from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment (Geological Society of America Memoir 203) (Boulder, Colorado: 2009).
Sobiech, Frank (2015). "Science, Ethos, and Transcendence in the Anatomy of Nicolaus Steno".The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly.15 (1):107–126.doi:10.5840/ncbq201515110.S2CID170234733.
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