Theodor Johann Euthymius Ritter von Oppolzer, Dr. med.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_von_Oppolzer Theodor von Oppolzer (26 October 1841 – 26 December 1886) was an Austrian astronomer and mathematician of Bohemian origin.[1][2]

The son of the physician Johann Ritter von Oppolzer, Theodor was born in Prague. He completed his graduate studies in medicine at the University of Vienna, gaining a Ph.D. in 1865. He also owned a private observatory. He began teaching theoretical astronomy and geodesics at the University of Vienna in 1866. By 1875 he was appointed a professor. In 1873 he became the director of the Austrian Geodetic Survey, and in 1886 he was elected president of the International Geodetic Association.

He was considered a highly capable astronomer and mathematician. For example, he was reputed to have memorized the values of 14,000 logarithms. In 1868 he led an expedition to observe a solar eclipse. Afterward (1887) he authored the Canon der Finsternisse, an authoritative compilation of the 8,000 solar and 5,200 lunar eclipses from 1,200 B.C. until 2,161 A.D.[3] This was widely recognized as one of the greatest computational feats of its day.

Oppolzer authored over 300 papers, with most concerning the orbital elements of comets and asteroids. He also published a two-volume manual on the determination of the orbital elements of comets and planets.[4] Both of his works served as standard astronomy references for many years.

He was working on an improved theory of lunar motion at the time of his death. His son Egon von Oppolzer also became a distinguished astronomer.

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Oppolzer.html

Austrian astronomer, born in Prague and died in Vienna. He received his Ph.D. in Leiden (1871), and became professor of celestial mechanics and geodesy in Vienna (1875). He was elected to the Imperial Academy of Sciences of Vienna in 1882, and the American National Academy of Sciences in 1883.

Oppolzer was one of the most talented astronomers of the nineteenth century. He wrote more 300 papers, the great majority deal with the determination of orbits of comets and asteroids. He was also a gifted mathematician, and reportedly knew 14,000 logarithms Eric Weisstein's World of Math by heart. His Canon der Finsternisse (Catalog of Eclipses) contained detailed information about 8000 solar and 5,200 lunar eclipses between 1208 BC and 2161 AD. This work was one of the greatest computational feats of his time.

Oppolzer also worked in geodesy. He died before completing a new theory of lunar motion. Oppolzer's son, Egon Ritter von Oppolzer, subsequently also became a distinguished astronomer.