Maria Kirch

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Maria Kirch

German astronomer

Also known as: Maria Margaretha Winckelmann

Written by Erik Gregersen

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 25, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name in full:: Maria Margaretha Winckelmann

Born:: Feb. 25, 1670, Panitzsch, near Leipzig, Saxony [Germany]

Died:: Dec. 29, 1720, Berlin, Prussia [Germany] (aged 50)

Subjects Of Study:: comet

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Maria Kirch (born Feb. 25, 1670, Panitzsch, near Leipzig, Saxony [Germany]—died Dec. 29, 1720, Berlin, Prussia [Germany]) was a German astronomer who was the first woman to discover a comet. Winckelmann was educated by her father, a Lutheran minister, and—after her father’s death—by an uncle. She studied astronomy under Christoph Arnold, a local self-taught astronomer. It was through Arnold that Winckelmann met astronomer Gottfried Kirch, who had studied under astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Winckelmann and Kirch married in 1692. Gottfried, with his three sisters, had been producing calendars that included vital astronomical information such as the phases of the Moon, times ...(100 of 478 words)

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