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Michael Stifel or Styfel (1487 – April 19, 1567) was a German monk and mathematician. He was an Augustinian who became an early supporter of Martin Luther. He was later appointed professor of mathematics at Jena University. ==Life== Stifel was born in Esslingen am Neckar. He joined the Order of Saint Augustine and was ordained a priest in 1511. Tensions in the abbey grew after he published the poem ''Von der Christförmigen, rechtgegründeten leer Doctoris Martini Luthers'' (1522, i.e. On the Christian, righteous doctrine of Doctor Martin Luther) and came into conflict with Thomas Murner. Stifel then left for Frankfurt, and soon went to Mansfeld, where he began his mathematical studies. In 1524 upon a recommendation by Martin Luther, Stifel was called to the Jörger on Tollet Palace in Tollet close to Grieskirchen, Upper Austria.〔 publication of kathpress (2013), (letter of Martin Luther to Countess Dorothea Jörger regarding a request of Michael Stifel (in German) )〕 Due to the tightened situation in Austria (execution of Leonhard Kaiser in Schaerding), Stifel returned to Wittenberg in 1527. At this time Stifel started writing a book collecting letter transscripts of Martin Luther. It was completed in 1534.〔 Michael Stifel, collection of handwritten transcripts (1534), ("Martin Luther Briefe and Sermone; Michael Stifel Passionsharmonie" (Latin/German) ), Wittenberg, digitized version of University Library Jena〕 By intercession of Martin Luther, Stifel became minister in Lochau (what is Annaburg now). Luther also confirmed the marriage of Michael Stifel and the widow of his predecessor in the ministry. Michael Stifel was fascinated regarding the properties and possibilities of numbers. At Lochau he had the opportunity to do mathematical studies on number theory and numerology. He also performed the so called "Wortrechnung" (i.e. word-calculation), studying the statistical properties of letters and words in the bible, a common method at that time. In 1532 Stifel published anonymously his "''Ein Rechenbuchlin vom EndChrist. Apocalyps in Apocalypsim''" (A Book of Arithmetic about the AntiChrist. A Revelation in the Revelation). This predicted that Judgement Day the world would end at 8am on October 19, 1533. The German saying "to talk a Stiefel" or "to calculate a Stiefel" (Stiefel is the German word for boot) meaning to say or calculate something based on a unusual track can be traced back to this incident.〔(Stiefel (einen Stiefel reden / schreiben) ) Retrieved 01/11/2012〕 When this prediction failed, he did not make any other predictions. In 1535 he became minister in Holzdorf near Wittenberg and stayed there for 12 years. Stifel now continued with serious mathematical studies. Worth mentioning were "the Coss" (the first algebra book written in German) of Christoph Rudolff, which he did in self study and "the Elements" of Euclid in the Latin edition by Campanus of Novara. A proposal of Jacob Milich, who supported his scientific development. Milich encouraged Michael Stifel to write a comprehensive work on arithmetic and algebra.〔Kurt Vogel (1981), ( Stifel, Michael ) Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. 2008. on Encyclopedia.com. 6 Dec. 2014 In 1541, during his time as minister in Holzdorf, he also registered for mathematics at the University of Wittenberg〔Album academiae vitebergensis 1502–1560, Leipzig 1841〕 to extend his mathematical knowledge. In 1558 Stifel became first professor of mathematics at the new founded University of Jena.〔Uni Jena, prominent persons. ("Namhafte Hochschullehrer und Studenten aus der Jenaer Universitätsgeschichte" (selection, in German) ) on http://www.uni-jena.de〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Michael Stifel」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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