Roger Joseph Boscovich

Croatia 1711-1787

Various versions of his name exist including the English, Roger Joseph Boscovich; the Italian, Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich; and finally, in his native Croatian: Ruđer Josip Bošković. Boscovich was a Croatian Jesuit mathematician and atomic theorist, though his work and research touched on a plethora of fields. He was born in 1711 in Croatia, but could also be considered an Italian due to the sheer amount of time he spent in Italy. (2) Boscovich decided to attend the Jesuit College in Rome, the Collegium Romanum, and set off in 1725. (2) After a two year stint studying at the Church Sant'andrea delle Fratte, he began his studies at the Collegium Romanum, the premier Jesuit university of the time. (2, 3)

He finished his initial course in 1732, but needed to teach for five years as the next phase of training. (2) His amazing results as a student earned him a position at the Collegium Romanum. At the same time he began to study the work of Newton and started making astronomical observations. (2) His schedule was quite ambitious, too ambitious as it turned out. His health suffered from this schedule on multiple occasions. Nevertheless, he continued to work. He observed the transit of Mercury in 1736, and then next year published his findings on Mercury, his research on spherical and finished his second phase of study. (2) From here, he commenced theological study that would culminate in his ordination.

In 1740, he became a professor of mathematics at the College, but a couple of years later the Pope, Benedict XIV summoned him, and two other outstanding mathematicians to fix the dome of St. Peter’s Cathedral, which was starting to crack. (3) Boscovich surveyed the site with the others, but was forced to rely heavily on theoretical mathematics to come to their conclusion. (5) They decided the dome was insufficiently supported and required more iron support rings. (5) Had their calculations been entirely correct however, the dome could never have stood for any length of time. Furthermore, their solution was generally distrusted because of the reliance on mathematics, which was seen as unnecessary at the time. Nevertheless, the solution was effective and demonstrated Boscovich’s reliance on mathematics rather than conjecture. (5) In 1744 he was finally ordained.

Boscovich continued his work unrelentingly, publishing more than 70 papers on a variety of scientific topics including optics, gravitation, trigonometry, and astronomy. (2) He created a method to determine a planet’s orbit from three observations, and to calculate a planet’s equator based on three observations of a feature on the surface. (2)

But his work was not limited to research and theory. In 1752, he was once again called on to assist the Pope. On this occasion, he worked with Christopher Maire, an English Jesuit, to survey the boundaries of the Papal States and created the first accurate map of the territory. (3)  The survey was conducted directly north from Rome to Rimini and Boscovich used triangulation in order to create their map. They eventually published the map and the details of their expedition in 1755 and titled it ‘On the Scientific Expedition Through the Papal States.’ (9) The map was widely reproduced and is another demonstration of Boscovich’s ability to apply mathematics to real world problems. (9)

One of the challenges Boscovich faced at this point was widespread political dislike for the Jesuit order. Boscovich resolutely set out to use his considerable influence to save the order. He journeyed to Paris in 1759. Boscovich had a magnificent reputation there, for a variety of reasons. He had met two of the members of the Academy of Science while they were travelling through Italy. In 1752, Boscovich sent an account of his research on Saturn and Jupiter to the Grand Prix of the Academy of Sciences. Euler won, but at least Boscovich received an honourable mention. (2) Finally, his work in the surveying the Papal lands, astronomy, and the aurora borealis cemented his reputation as a renowned scientist. (2) At some point he became a member of the Academy of Science. (1) Boscovich’s reputation was such that he was able to convince Benedict XIV to remove Copernicus’ work from the the Index of Forbidden Books. (1)

After a few months in Paris, he set off for England and became a member of the Royal Society. Because of his extended absence, his job was given to another Jesuit, leaving him free to carry on, and with little reason to remain in any particular location. (6) Boscovich was determined to create as many contacts as possible, and travelled across Europe. (6) He returned to Rome in 1763, but not to the Jesuit College. Instead, he worked to drain the Pontine Marshes, and regulate the flow of the Tiber river. (7) Malaria was a pressing issue, partially addressed by the Jesuit introduction of quinine during the 1500s, but marshland still posed a significant health hazard.

However, the threat to the Jesuits loomed ever larger. The Jesuit suppression occurred for a variety of reasons, but in large part because of the Jesuit reduction settlements. (4) These settlements had helped the natives achieve a better standard of life and when the Portuguese attempted to expand and force the natives out, the natives decided to defend themselves. Jesuits specifically had stepped aside, but were blamed for inciting a war against monarchy anyway, and then the order was banned in Portugal in 1759, with France and Spain following in a few years. (4)

The French attacked the Jesuits because they were unable to repay loans taken out to build sugar plantations, despite king Louis XV attempts to protect them. (4) These events forced astronomical change on Boscovich. He had been invited to journey to Baja California to observe the transit of Venus, quite a rare event, many occur hundreds of years apart; only eighty-one occured over a six-thousand year period. Occasionally though, transits occur eight years apart, a double transit of sorts. (8) Boscovich was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to live during one of these eight year cycles. However, the first available transit, in 1761, saw Boscovich in Venice under a cloud-ridden sky, while he was attempting to make his way to Constantinople. (3) This second chance in 1769 offered him the opportunity to make up for having missed the previous chance, though it would be the last in his lifetime. However, the situation was too dire for the Jesuit order and so Boscovich declined the trip. Many of the astronomers died of disease on that trip, so it was probably just as well that he avoided it. (3)

The French monarch was willing to keep current Jesuits, but the courts had ruled no against the Jesuits novices could be taken on. (4) The Jesuit colleges were shut down, but their alleged riches were nowhere to be found. Various other European powers started exiling the Jesuits and pressuring the Pope to suppress the order. (4) Pope Clement XIII was unwilling to suppress the order of which he thought so highly, but with his death, a cardinal willing to suppress the order became Pope Clement XIV. Even then, Pope Clement XIV tried to appeal, pointing to the fact that Austria-Hungary’s ruler opposed the suppression of the order. However, Austria-Hungary wanted an alliance with another power and was willing to go along with the suppression to expedite their plans. Therefore in 1773, Pope Clement XIV finally had to give the order for the Jesuits to be suppressed. (4)

When the news of the Jesuit order’s suppression came to Boscovich and he decided to head back to his native Croatia when he was invited to Paris by King Louis XVI. (6) Boscovich received a significant salary, 8,000 and the ability to work with the French Navy (6, 7) One of his key projects while working for the French Navy was developing an achromatic telescope. An achromatic lens is a lens that does not separate light into its constituent colors, creating a superior image. However, he faced a few issues in France (3) Boscovich had become a French citizen to allay their issues with a foreigner directing the Optics of the French Navy, he’d had to defend his method of determining an orbit from three observations, and also had an issue with who was getting the new equipment he had created. (2) In the end, he stayed long enough to publish a book on eclipses, but ultimately thought it better to leave France in 1782 and return to Italy(4).

Boscovich regularly published on scientific or philosophical ideas, and was also a poet. (6) He improvised verse in public, created poems about scientific subjects, and was part of an Italian society of poetry (6) He wrote several books, as well. Teacher, Engineer, Astronomer, Poet, Mathematician, Physicist, Historian, Diplomat, Jesuit, Priest, Catholic.

However, one would be remiss for failing to mention Boscovich’s most famous work: the Theory of Natural Philosophy, first published in 1758. The volume dealt the nature of atoms, which Boscovich was certain must be tiny points, almost non-existent except for the forces they produced. (1, 6) Boscovich summarizes his theory as follows “Matter is composed of perfectly indivisible, non-extended, discrete points.” (7) Furthermore, he argues no atoms can be in the same place at the same time. He reasoned that in a three dimensional space the number of points is infinite, while there are a finite number of atoms, therefore without anybody manipulating them, atoms are infinitely improbable to be in the same place. (7) In addition, Boscovich finds that atoms can never touch, but the gap between them can be infinitely small. (7) These atoms would have a property essentially like inertia but without mass since any amount of mass in an infinitesimally small point would mean an infinite amount of mass in that singular point. (7) Rather, the inertia of these atoms exists based on the forces they produce. The accelerations they produce by their inherent force can come together when they are in a group which eventually comes together to explain gravity on a macroscale. (7)  Boscovich held that atoms must produce both attractive and repellent forces, and the force diminishes with distance. (1) The repulsive forces were active on the extremely microscopic scale, alternating as the scale progressed until settling on attractive forces at the macroscopic level. (2)


Works Referenced

1. Roger Joseph Boscovich S. J. (1711-1787) http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/scientists/boscovich.htm 
2. Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Boscovich.html 
3. Science in the Enlightenment: An Encyclopedia https://books.google.com/books?id=4H9_Zvp80nAC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=Pontine+marshes+boscovich#v=onepage&q=Pontine%20marshes%20boscovich&f=false 
4. Causes, Process, and consequences of the Jesuit Order’s suppression. https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140601/life-features/Causes-process-and-consequences-of-the-Jesuit-Order-s-suppression.521790 
5. History of Structural Engineering: St. Peter’s Dome http://www.aleckassociates.co.uk/structural-engineering/history-of-structural-engineering-st-peters-rome
6. The Jesuit Suppression in Global Context: Causes, Events, and Consequences https://books.google.com/books?id=LUy2CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA265&lpg=#v=onepage&q&f=false 
7. A Theory of Natural Philosophy https://books.google.com/books?id=RH5jw_7UOT4C&pg=PR7&lpg=PR7&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false 
8. Six Millenium of Venus Transits: 2000 BCE to 4000 CE https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/catalog/VenusCatalog.html 
9. First Modern Map of the Papal States https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299693061_Exploring_Along_the_Rome_Meridian_Roger_Boscovich_and_the_First_Modern_Map_of_the_Papal_States 

Alternate version of source #7

• https://archive.org/details/theoryofnaturalp00boscrich

Lunar Crater Named in Boscovich's honor