Who Was Ruđer Bošković

Ruđer Bošković (1711–1787) was a Jesuit from Dubrovnik who worked as an astronomer, mathematician, physicist, philosopher, geodesist, diplomat and poet. Born in the Republic of Ragusa, he spent most of his life in Rome, Milan, Paris and on journeys across Europe. Encyclopedias describe him as one of the last great polymaths in the history of science.

He is best known for Philosophiae naturalis theoria, published in Vienna in 1758. In it he argued that matter consists of indivisible points that act as centres of force. He also measured a meridian arc, advised Pope Benedict XIV, designed the Brera Observatory and carried out diplomatic missions on behalf of his native city.

His name appears in the literature in several forms: Ruđer Josip Bošković, Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich and Roger Joseph Boscovich. The text below follows his life and work from his childhood in Dubrovnik to his death in Milan.

Origins and Childhood in Dubrovnik

Ruđer Bošković was born on 18 May 1711 in Dubrovnik, the capital of the Republic of Ragusa. He was baptised on 26 May 1711 by the priest Marin Karolis. Some older editions of encyclopedias give 11 May as his birth date, but most more recent sources give 18 May.

His father, Nikola Bošković, was a Dubrovnik merchant. His mother, Paola Bettera, came from a respected Dubrovnik family of Italian origin. Her father, Bartolomeo Bettera, was a merchant who had originally come from Bergamo.

The origin of the Bošković family is a matter of debate. Britannica states that Bošković’s father was a Croat, adding that some sources say a Serb. For this reason Bošković is described in different ways in the literature, and the only undisputed point is that he was a Ragusan by birth.

Sources also differ on his exact place among the children. Some describe him as the youngest of seven children, others as the eighth child and sixth son. In any case, he grew up in a large family in which education was highly valued.

His older brother Bartolomej, born in 1700, left home when Ruđer was three and became a Jesuit in Rome. His brother Ivan (Đivo) became a Dominican in a Dubrovnik monastery, and his brother Petar (Pero) wrote poetry. His sister Marija became a nun at the Convent of St. Catherine in Dubrovnik.

His father died around 1721, a few years before Ruđer left for Rome. His mother then continued to look after the family. In this way the young Bošković’s upbringing was shaped both by his family and by a city of seafaring merchants and diplomats.

Education

Ruđer Bošković received his first schooling at the Jesuit Ragusan College (Collegium Ragusinum). His teachers recognised his talent very early. A nineteenth-century edition of Britannica notes that he stood out mainly for his diligence and obedience.

With his mother’s consent, his teachers sent him to Rome. He left Dubrovnik on 16 September 1725 and entered the Jesuit novitiate later that year. Some sources give 1726, and the Vatican Observatory mentions 1731, so the sources differ. Most of them, however, give 1725.

After the novitiate he studied rhetoric and classical literature, and developed a particular fondness for Latin poetry. His superiors then sent him to study mathematics and physics at the Roman College (Collegium Romanum), the most respected Jesuit school of the age. There he proved to be an exceptional mathematician.

His Latin remained distinctive throughout his career. He wrote not only scientific treatises but also poems in Latin. For this reason his contemporaries admired him both as a scientist and as a stylist.

Professor of Mathematics at the Roman College

In 1740 Bošković became professor of mathematics at the Roman College. He was appointed before he had completed his theology studies, which shows the reputation he already enjoyed. He held that chair until 1759.

From 1736 he published treatises on mathematics, physics, astronomy and geodesy. He wrote on subjects such as the aurora, the transit of Mercury across the Sun, sunspots and inequalities in terrestrial gravity. In 1742 he published a treatise on the aberration of the fixed stars.

Each year he published a dissertation together with his students, which they defended publicly with his help. His colleague and fellow countryman Benedikt Stay wrote poems on philosophy, and Bošković later edited them and added scientific commentaries. For his pupils he also wrote a substantial textbook, Elementa universae matheseos (1754).

In 1753 he concluded that the Moon has no atmosphere. His conclusion was based on observations of eclipses and the occultation of stars. In this way he also earned a reputation as a practical astronomer.

The Dome of St. Peter’s and the Measurement of the Meridian

In 1742 cracks appeared in the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Pope Benedict XIV called on three mathematicians to assess its condition: Ruđer Bošković, Tommaso Le Seur and François Jacquier. Their 1743 report is regarded in the history of civil engineering as one of the earliest theoretical treatments of structural mechanics.

The mathematicians analysed the cracks and calculated the horizontal thrust of the dome. They recommended placing iron rings around it. The plan was later carried out, and the alarm in Rome subsided.

The pope entrusted Bošković with other practical tasks as well. He advised on the draining of the Pontine Marshes and on the protection of other structures. His opinion was also sought by other rulers, among them King John V of Portugal.

Together with the English Jesuit Christopher Maire, from 1750 to 1752 he measured an arc of the meridian between Rome and Rimini, spanning about two degrees. It was commissioned by Pope Benedict XIV in order to correct the maps of the Papal States and to test the shape of the Earth. He had originally been due to take part in a similar expedition in Brazil, but the pope asked him to stay in Italy.

The results of the survey were published in 1755, and in 1757 Bošković published a summary. He received only a modest reward for this work, a fact often emphasised in later biographies. Even so, the work remained important in the history of geodesy.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Bošković was also credited with influence on the abolition of the obsolete Index ban on the Copernican system, which Pope Benedict XIV lifted in 1757.

The Theory of Natural Philosophy

Ruđer Bošković’s most important philosophical and physical work is Philosophiae naturalis theoria redacta ad unicam legem virium in natura existentium. It was first published in Vienna in 1758. An enlarged edition appeared in Venice in 1763, after the first edition had attracted great attention.

In this work Bošković argues that matter consists of indivisible points without dimensions. These points are centres of force, and the force between them depends on distance. At small distances they repel one another, and at greater distances they attract, which explains why solid bodies resist pressure.

With a single law of forces he tried to explain the behaviour of all of nature. In doing so he built on Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, but combined their ideas in an original way. The Dictionary of Scientific Biography describes him as standing between Newton and Leibniz on the one hand and Faraday on the other.

He had developed these ideas earlier in the treatises De materiae divisibilitate (1748), De continuitatis lege (1754) and De lege virium in natura existentium (1755). In them he dealt with the principle of continuity and the law of forces. For this reason the Theoria is regarded as the culmination of many years of work.

The work also drew criticism, especially from Jesuits who remained attached to Aristotelian philosophy. Even so, many natural philosophers welcomed his ideas. Joseph Priestley wrote to him about his theory in 1778, and in later centuries physicists cited him as a forerunner of modern ideas about matter.

Diplomatic Activity

Bošković was also a skilled diplomat. In 1757 the Republic of Lucca sent him to Vienna, where he represented its interests in a dispute with Tuscany over the water regime of Lake Bientina. He settled the dispute successfully, and in Vienna he also completed the manuscript of his main work.

In 1760 the Republic of Ragusa entrusted him with a special mission. The British government suspected that warships had been fitted out in the Ragusan port for France, which would have violated its neutrality. Bošković went to London to defend the reputation of his homeland and to dispel the suspicions.

He never separated himself completely from his native city. According to the weekly Vreme, he returned to Dubrovnik only once, in 1747, but he carried out numerous diplomatic tasks for it. The Ragusans were represented at foreign courts through him.

Diplomacy and science often intertwined. On the same journeys he met scholars, courts and academies, and so he also helped to exchange knowledge. In this way Ruđer Bošković is remembered as a man who served science, the Church and his city at the same time.

Journeys Across Europe

Bošković left Rome in 1759. The Superior General of the Jesuits, Lorenzo Ricci, gave him the role of visitor, and he travelled to Paris. There he was a corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences, to which he had been elected in 1748.

He did not stay long in Paris. In 1760 he travelled to London, where members of the Royal Society received him. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1761. He dedicated to this society his Latin poem De Solis ac Lunae defectibus, on the eclipses of the Sun and the Moon, which was printed in London.

In England he encouraged preparations for observing the transit of Venus across the Sun on 6 June 1761. He also proposed using lenses made of liquids to avoid chromatic aberration. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, this may have contributed to John Dollond’s success in making achromatic telescopes.

He then set out for Constantinople, where he wanted to observe the transit of Venus. He travelled with the Venetian ambassador Correr, but arrived too late. After that he reached Rome in November 1763 by way of Poland, Silesia, Austria and Venice, after more than four years away. He wrote a travel diary of the journey, Giornale di un viaggio da Constantinopoli in Polonia.

In 1760 he was also elected an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. The Bologna Academy had admitted him in 1746. In this way he gained recognition in the most important scientific centres of his age.

The Chair at Pavia and the Brera Observatory

On his return to Italy, Bošković became professor of mathematics at the University of Pavia in 1764. At that time the Jesuit college of Brera in Milan was considering building a new observatory. After a short stay in Brera in 1764, he was entrusted with drawing up the project.

He prepared the plan of the building from the second half of 1764 to the beginning of 1765. The observatory had two main floors. According to the Vatican Observatory, he became its first director in 1770.

For the instruments Bošković sought the best equipment available. The lenses for an achromatic telescope were bought in England from Dollond, and the telescope mount was made by the engineer Giuseppe Megele. In drawing up the development plan he was also helped by the Austrian chancellor Kaunitz, who accepted many of his proposals.

In 1769 the Royal Society offered him the chance to lead an expedition to California to observe the transit of Venus. Because of the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spanish territories, the expedition did not take place. Bošković stayed in Italy.

In 1770 he moved to the department of optics and astronomy at the Palatine Schools (Scuole Palatine) in Milan. However, relations with his colleagues at the observatory worsened. Two years later he resigned from his professorship.

The Suppression of the Jesuits and the Years in Paris

Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus in August 1773. For Bošković this was a severe blow, since all Jesuits lost their positions. He was left without a post and uncertain about his future.

Influential friends urged him to go to Paris. King Louis XV of France invited him to become director of optics for the navy, a post created especially for him. He received a pension of 8,000 livres, and he also became a French citizen.

In Paris he devoted himself to optics and astronomy. He worked on improving optical instruments and telescope lenses. This was the last productive period of his life.

Even so, he also had conflicts with colleagues. According to the Vatican Observatory, a dispute over scientific priority with Laplace and other rivals contributed to his leaving France. He returned to Italy in 1782 or 1783, so the sources differ.

After his return he stayed briefly at the monastery of Vallombrosa. Then, in Bassano, he worked on publishing his works on optics and astronomy, which appeared as a multi-volume collection in 1785. He then settled in Milan.

Final Years and Death

In his last years Ruđer Bošković returned to Milan and to the observatory where he had left his mark. According to the Brera Observatory, in 1786 he spent several months nearby, before his health finally deteriorated. A serious illness exhausted him.

He died on 13 February 1787 in Milan, at the age of 75. He was buried in the church of Santa Maria Podone in Milan. In 2000 the Croatian consul in Milan laid wreaths at the site of his resting place.

The Brera Observatory remained in the hands of his successors. After the suppression of the order it was nationalised and passed under Austrian administration, and it was later directed by Barnaba Oriani. In this way Bošković’s project lived on.

Private Life

As a Jesuit, Ruđer Bošković never married and had no children. He devoted his whole life to the order, to science and to service. His private life is known mostly from his correspondence with his family, above all with his brother Bartolomej.

Besides his brother Bartolomej, other family members appear in the correspondence, and most of the letters preserved date from 1764 to 1772. His nephew Natale is also mentioned in the archive. The Bošković collection is held at the Bancroft Library in Berkeley.

The 1911 Britannica describes him as self-assured and quarrelsome, a man who often changed residence because of conflicts. His contemporaries, on the other hand, describe him as a refined and brilliant conversationalist. These contrasting assessments should be treated with caution.

He was also a poet. He wrote in Latin and in Croatian, and he is known for the poem on eclipses mentioned earlier. Some sources also say that he was prone to melancholy near the end of his life, but this claim has not been fully confirmed.

Interesting Facts

• British sources call him Roger Joseph Boscovich, and Italian ones Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich.
• He wrote much of his poem on the eclipses of the Sun and the Moon on horseback, while riding during his meridian measurements.
• The Royal Society invited him to lead an expedition to California, but the suppression of the Jesuits prevented it.
• For his work in Paris he received a pension of 8,000 livres.
• Britannica notes that he was among the first scientists in continental Europe to accept Newton’s theory of gravitation.
• His brother Petar was a poet, as was their grandfather.

Awards and Honours

Ruđer Bošković was a member of several academies. The Bologna Academy admitted him in 1746, and the Paris Academy of Sciences made him a corresponding member in 1748. The Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg elected him an honorary member in 1760, and the Royal Society in London elected him in 1761.

There is a crater on the Moon named Boscovich, about 41.5 kilometres in diameter, as well as a system of rilles called Rimae Boscovich. The Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb is the largest Croatian scientific research institution that bears his name. The Astronomical Society in Belgrade is also named after him.

In 2011 Croatia declared the Year of Ruđer Bošković, marking 300 years since his birth. His portrait appeared on the 100,000 Croatian dinar banknote. The Croatian Post also issued commemorative stamps.

Legacy and Influence

Ruđer Bošković is remembered as a scientist whose ideas were ahead of their time. His theory of point-like centres of force drew the attention of physicists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as well. Some authors see in it a forerunner of modern models of the atom.

In geodesy he left behind the measurement of the meridian, and in civil engineering his treatise on the dome of St. Peter’s. In astronomy he is remembered for the Brera Observatory, which in its day was among the best equipped. In optics he left numerous treatises on telescopes and lenses.

His figure today also has a political dimension, since several peoples lay claim to him. Croats regard him as their own, Serbs point to the Serbian origin of his father, and Italians to his mother and his life in Italy. The most accurate description is that he was a Ragusan and a European scientist.

Bošković is therefore one of the few scientists who connects the Balkans, Italy, France and England. His work is still studied today, and schools, streets and institutions in several countries bear his name.

Biography – Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Ruđer Bošković?

Ruđer Bošković was a Jesuit from Dubrovnik, an astronomer, mathematician, physicist, philosopher and diplomat of the eighteenth century. He is best known for his theory of forces in nature, published in Vienna in 1758.

When and where was Ruđer Bošković born?

He was born on 18 May 1711 in Dubrovnik, then the Republic of Ragusa. Some older editions of encyclopedias give 11 May, but most sources confirm 18 May.

When and where did Ruđer Bošković die?

He died on 13 February 1787 in Milan, at the age of 75. He was buried in the church of Santa Maria Podone.

What is Ruđer Bošković best known for?

He is best known for Philosophiae naturalis theoria, in which he put forward the theory that matter consists of points that are centres of force. He is also known for measuring a meridian arc, examining the dome of St. Peter’s and founding the Brera Observatory.

Was Ruđer Bošković a Croat or a Serb?

The sources differ. Most describe him as a Croatian scientist from Dubrovnik, and Britannica states that his father was a Croat, adding that some sources say a Serb. His mother was of Italian origin.

What did Ruđer Bošković discover?

He concluded that the Moon has no atmosphere (1753), developed a theory of forces in nature and offered geometric procedures in astronomy. He also measured an arc of the meridian between Rome and Rimini and proposed measures to stabilise the dome of St. Peter’s.

Was Ruđer Bošković a priest?

Yes, he was a Jesuit. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1725, and when the order was suppressed in 1773 he went to Paris. As a Jesuit he never married.

How is Ruđer Bošković honoured today?

A crater on the Moon, the institute in Zagreb, the Astronomical Society in Belgrade and numerous schools are named after him. Croatia declared 2011 the Year of Ruđer Bošković, and his portrait also appeared on a banknote.

Where did Ruđer Bošković live and work?

He lived mostly in Rome, Milan and Paris. He also travelled to Vienna, London, Constantinople and Poland, and he returned to his native Dubrovnik only once, in 1747.

Conclusion

Ruđer Bošković is remembered as a Ragusan whose work marked the science of the eighteenth century. As a Jesuit, professor, geodesist, diplomat and poet, he worked in Rome, Milan, Paris and London. His theory of forces remained his most significant work.

He examined the dome of St. Peter’s, measured a meridian arc and designed the Brera Observatory. After the suppression of the Jesuits he went to Paris, and then returned to Milan, where he died in 1787. Today he is remembered by a crater on the Moon, the institute in Zagreb and numerous institutions that bear his name.