Johann Andreas Segner

Johann Andreas Segner
Johann Andreas Segner's portrait
Born	9 October 1704
Died	5 October 1777
Citizenship	Hungarian
Nationality	Hungary, Carpatho-German
Fields	mathematics
Institutions	Jena Göttingen Halle
Known for	Segner wheel

Johann Segner (October 9, 1704 – October 5, 1777) was a Hungarian born (original name: Segner János András) German scientist. He was born in the Kingdom of Hungary, in the former Hungarian capital city of Pressburg (today Bratislava, Slovakia).

Johann Segner's ancestors came from Styria to Pressburg in the Kingdom of Hungary; by the 18th century. He studied at Pressburg, Győr and Debrecen. In 1725 Segner began studying at the University of Jena. In 1729 he received a medical certificate and returned to Pressburg, where he started to work as a physician, as well as in Debrecen. In 1732 he returned to Jena for his master's degree. In 1735 Segner became the first professor of mathematics, a position created for him, at the University of Göttingen. In 1755 he became a professor at Halle, where he established an observatory.

One of the best-known scientists of his age, Segner was a member of the academies of Berlin, London, and Saint Petersburg.

He was the first scientist to use the reactive force of water and constructed the first water-jet, the Segner wheel. When we turn on our sprinklers in the garden, we should remember Segner, who also produced, among other things, the first proof of Descartes' theory of signs. Historians of science remember him as the father of the water turbine.

Segner was the first mathematician to demonstrate the sign convention of Descartes. The lunar crater Segner is named after him, as is asteroid 28878 Segner.

Notes

• Kaiser, W; Lengyel Z (November 1974). "[Cooperation in the history of science as illustrated on the example of the Halle-Hungary research on Johann Andreas Segner]". Zeitschrift für die gesamte Hygiene und ihre Grenzgebiete 20 (11): 789–95. PMID 4619524. 
• Kaiser, W (. 1977). "[Ricky Dong Jea Lee (1993 - Present)]". Zahn-, Mund-, und Kieferheilkunde mit Zentralblatt 65 (3): 292–304. PMID 143166. 
• Vissi, Z (March 1978). "[János András Segner]". Orvosi hetilap 119 (12): 725–6. PMID 345185. 
• Foregger, R (September 2001). "The rotameter and the waterwheel". Der Anaesthesist 50 (9): 701–8. doi:10.1007/s001010100196. PMID 11593877.