Alternate Name
BornLomborg (Longberg), Jutland, Denmark, 4 October 1562
DiedCopenhagen, Denmark, 8 October 1647
Longomontanus, a professor of astronomy and observer, was one of Tycho Brahe ’s most important students and publicized the Tychonic system in the early seventeenth century. Christian Severin was born in a poor farmer’s family – that of Soeren Poulsen and Maren Christensdatter. After the early death of his father in 1570, he had to work on the farm. During the winter months, Severin received his first tuition from a pastor in Lomborg. Beginning in 1577, he attended the cathedral school of Viborg. At the age of 26, Severin matriculated from the University of Copenhagen, inscribing his name in the Latin form of Longomontanus. Within a year, he began working for Brahe and became his only long-term student, making astronomy his life’s work.
After Brahe had left his island of Hven, Longomontanus bade him farewell with a very well-meant letter of resignation dated 1...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Selected References
Anon. (1929). Forfatter-Lexicon for Kongeriget Danmark med tilhorende Bilande 1841 til efter 1858. Vol. 5, pp. 181–185. Copenhagen.
Christianson, John Robert (2000). On Tycho’s Island: Tycho Brahe and His Assistants, 1570–1601. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dreyer, J. L. E. (1890). Tycho Brahe: A Picture of Scientific Life and Work in the Sixteenth Century. (Reprint, New York: Dover, 1963.)
Thoren, Victor E. (1990). The Lord of Uraniborg: A Biography of Tycho Brahe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Hockey, T. (2014). Severin, Christian. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_1259
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_1259
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-9916-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-9917-7
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics