Alternate Names
Cunitia, Maria; Cunitiae, Maria
BornSilesia, (Poland), circa1604–1610
Died Pitschen (Byczyna, Poland), 22 or 24 August 1664
Maria Cunitz was one of the first modern femmes de science. The eldest daughter of Maria Schultz and Dr. Heinrich Cunitz, a learned physician, she was denied any form of university education. Her first instruction was from her father, but in 1630 she married Dr. Elias von Löwen (Elie de Loewen, who died in 1661, at Pitschen in Brieg, Silesia), who shared her interests in astronomy. Known as the “Silesian Pallas,” Cunitz did not confine her interests to Urania. By one tradition she mastered seven languages (Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, Polish, Italian, and French) and was widely known for her skills in painting, music, and poetry, not to mention the “masculine” pursuits of mathematics and medicine. Private correspondence shows her interest in horoscopes and genealogy. The most noted woman astronomer since Hypatia , Cunitz’s principal interest was...
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
Guentherodt, Ingrid (1991). “Maria Cunitia: Urania Propitia, Intendiertes, erwartetes und tatsächliches Lesepublikum einer Astronomin des 17. Jahrhunderts.” Daphnis: Zeitschrift für mittlere deutsche Literatur 20, no. 2: 311–353.
Hatch, Robert Alan. (1982). The Collection Boulliau FF. 13019–13059): An Inventory. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.
Hatch, Robert Alan. (Forthcoming). The Correspondence of Maria Cunitz & Elias von Löwen (1648–1656), Latin & English Texts.
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
Hatch, R.A. (2014). Cunitz, Maria. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_319
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_319
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