Croat physicist (1711–1787)
An 18th-century Jesuit who carved out space for atoms before anyone knew what to do with them — and worked out how to plot a planet's orbit from three glimpses.
Born in the Republic of Ragusa on 18 May 1711, Boscovich joined the Jesuits and moved through Italy and France, writing in nearly every direction the Enlightenment allowed: physics, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, diplomacy, poetry, theology. He produced an early atomic theory that prefigured later models, devised the first geometric method for finding a rotating planet's equator from three observations of a surface feature, and in 1753 discovered the Moon has no atmosphere. He published widely across Europe until his death on 13 February 1787, leaving behind a body of work almost too vari…
Sourced, dated quotes from Roger Joseph Boscovich
For a long time the celebrated theory of Boscovich was the ideal of physicists.
The phrase "ahead of his time" is overused. I'm going to use it anyway. I'm not referring to Galileo or Newton. Both were definitely right on time, neither late or early.
In 1763 a Croatian Jesuit named Roger Joseph Boscovich (1711 - 1787) identified the ultimate implication of this mechanical atomic theory.
Boscovich's ideas exerted a deep influence on the work on the next following generation of physicist ...
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