Bernard Wapowski
Encyclopedia
Bernard Wapowski was a historian and the leading Polish cartographer of the 16th century, known as "the father of Polish cartography."
at the family's village of Wapowce (hence his surname
, the adjective formed from the village's name).
In 1526 Wapowski was serving as secretary to the King of Poland when Nicolaus Copernicus
assisted him in mapping the Kingdom of Poland
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
.
In 1535, Bernard Wapowski wrote a letter to a gentleman in Vienna urging him to publish an enclosed almanac, which he claimed was written by Copernicus. This is the first and only mention of a Copernicus almanac in the historical records. The almanac was likely Copernicus's tables of planetary positions. The Wapowski letter mentions Copernicus's theory about the motions of the earth. Nothing came of Wapowski's request because he died a couple of weeks later.
Life
Wapowski was born near PrzemyślPrzemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
at the family's village of Wapowce (hence his surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
, the adjective formed from the village's name).
In 1526 Wapowski was serving as secretary to the King of Poland when Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
assisted him in mapping the Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
.
In 1535, Bernard Wapowski wrote a letter to a gentleman in Vienna urging him to publish an enclosed almanac, which he claimed was written by Copernicus. This is the first and only mention of a Copernicus almanac in the historical records. The almanac was likely Copernicus's tables of planetary positions. The Wapowski letter mentions Copernicus's theory about the motions of the earth. Nothing came of Wapowski's request because he died a couple of weeks later.