Maria winkelmann kirch biography of mahatma gandhi

German astronomer

Maria Margaretha Kirch (néeWinckelmann, in historic sources named Maria Margaretha Kirchin; 25 February 1670 – 29 December 1720) was a Germanastronomer.

She was one of the first famous astronomers of her period due to her writing on the conjunction of the sun with Saturn, Venus, and Jupiter in 1709 and 1712 respectively.^[1]

Early life

Maria was educated from an early age by her father, a Lutheranminister, who believed that she deserved an education equivalent to that given to young boys.^[2] By the age of 13 she had lost both her father and mother.

By that time, she had also received a general education from her brother-in-law Justinus Toellner and the well-known self taught astronomer Christoph Arnold, who lived nearby in the town of Sommerfeld and was credited with being the first to discover a passing comet.^[3][4] She became Arnold's unofficial apprentice and later his assistant,