KAESTNER

GERMANY (see also List of Individuals)

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27.9.1719 Leipzig/D - 20.6.1800 Göttingen/D

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Abraham Gotthelf Kaestner studied at the Leipzig University until 1739, the year of obtaining the PhD title, and continued there as a Lecturer. Until 1746 he was a Privatdozent and then appointed associate professor and promoted to the full professorship in mathematics at the Göttingen University in 1756, succeeding Johannes Andreas Segner (1707-1774). In 1762 Kaestner was appointed director of the Göttingen Observatory and decorated with the title Hofrath of Braunschweig County in 1765. Kaestner was elected in 1789 Fellow of the Royal Society, London.

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Kaestner is not famed for original research but rather he was involved in compiling encyclopedias and for textbook writing. Despite this he was interested in the philosophy of mathematics and he wrote widely on the applications of mathematics to hydromechanics or to mechanics. His 1769 book may be considered typical, rather an abstract description of knowledge that was acquainted in the 18th century, but away from reality, such as those of Claus Kroencke (1771-1843), Johann Esaias Silberschlag (1716-1791) or Johann Albert Eytelwein (1764-1848). Kaestner was also a promoter of the German language for scientific communication, rather than Latin that dominated until around 1750.

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_{Hamberger, G.C. (1797). Kaestner, Abraham Gotthelf. Das gelehrte Deutschland oder Lexikon der jetzt lebenden teutschen Schriftsteller 4: 6-15. Meyer: Lemgo.}

_{Kaestner, A.G. (1769). Anfangsgründe der Hydromechanik, welche von der Bewegung des Wassers besonders die praktischen Lehren enthalten. Vandenhoek: Göttingen.}

_{Kaestner, A.G. (1792). Anfangsgründe der angewandten Mathematik. Vandenhoek & Ruprecht: Göttingen.}

_{Kaestner, A.G. (1793). Anfangsgründe der höheren Mechanik, welche von der Bewegung fester Körper besonders die praktischen Lehren enthalten. Vandenhoek&Ruprecht: Göttingen. Kaestner, A.G. (1796). Geschichte der Mathematik seit der Wiederherstellung der Wissenschaften bis an das Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts. Rosenbusch: Göttingen.}

_{Kleinert, A. (1997). Kaestner, Abraham Gotthelf. Deutsche biographische Enzyklopädie 5: 397.}

_{Saur: München.}

_{Meusel, J.G. (1806). Kaestner, Abraham Gotthelf. Lexikon der vom Jahr 1750 bis 1800 verstorbenen teutschen Schriftsteller 6: 369-382. Fleischer: Leipzig. http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/%7Ehistory/Mathematicians/Kaestner.html http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/KAESTNERhistory/Mathematicians/Kaestner.html P http://www.phf.uni-rostock.de/institut/igerman/forschung/litkritik/litkritik/Kritiker/AbKaestner.htm http://www.phf.uni-rostock.de/institut/igerman/forschung/litkritik/litkritik/Kritiker/ AbKaestner.htm http://www.phf.uni-rostock.de/institut/igerman/forschung/litkritik/litkritik/Kritiker/AbKaestner.htm P}