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Alex Eremenko wrote-

>Looking into the catalog right now, while replying your e-mail,
>I suddenly found that we also have
>"The Euler-Mayer correspondence 1751-1755. A new perspective
>on the XVII century advances in the lunar theory", which I
>never noticed earlier. So probably I will go to the library today:-)

That volume is by the late Eric Forbes,who has written much about Tobias
Mayer, of G?ttingen, in books and journal articles. He has written a
biography of Mayer, title "Tobias Mayer (1723 - 62), Pioneer of enlightened
science in Germany", published in 1980 by Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht. of
G?ttingen.

Mayer qualifies as a real polymath. In his short life he was responsible
for developments in a wide range of sciences" In cartography, surveying,
astronomy, mathematics, even colour mixing and fortification. He invented
precise instruments for surveying, astronomy, and navigation, including his
reflecting repeating circle, an great advance in precision over the Hadley
octant ,which led to the development of the sextant. His theory of lunar
motion was the basis for Maskelyne's predictions in the early Nautical
Almanacs, and won Mayer (his widow, actually) part of the longitude prize.
And yet, he is little-known, certainly little-appreciated, in the
English-speaking world.

My long-promised contribution to the list, of a translation of Mayer's
Latin description of his circle, is still on the stocks.

By the way, Alex referred to " ...A new perspective on the XVII century
advances in the lunar theory..", but I suspect this should have read XVIII
century, not XVII century.

George.


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