Joannes Wendlingen SJ (1715-1791), native of Prague, and his activities in the Czech lands and in Spain
Abstract
The aim is to depict the career of the member of the "old" Society of Jesus Joannes Wendlingen: his life in Bohemia (family origins and relations, studies, career in the Society of Jesus) and in Spain (cosmograph, constructor of sundials, professor of Mathematics, founder of the astronomical observatory in Madrid, teacher of the royal children) and then his involuntary coming back after the expulsion of the jesuits of all Spanish territories. We are interested also in his life story after the dissolution of the Society of Jesus in 1773, including the exact date of his death which has been stated incorrectly till now. We are montoring also his professional contacts in Europe and other continents (Spanish America).
All of this based on historical sources, mostly unpublished. The result is a global (but sure not final) evaluation of this extraordinary person and of his involvement in the historical context (transition from scholastic erudition to modern science of the 18th century).