Eise Eisinga

Eise Eisinga was born at Dronrijp on the 21st of February 1744. His father was a woolcomber by profession. After a few years at the village school of Dronrijp he was put to learn his father's trade. However, from his youth up he showed a great liking and aptitude for mathematics and astronomy. His father too had applied himself to these sciences in his spare time. He also studied mechanics.

 Eisinga was still quite young when he started going once a week to Franeker to visit a man in the town with whom he stu- died the first six, the eleventh and twelfth books of Euclid, learning something about spherical trigonometry, the structure of the planetary system and the calculation of eclipses. But he never received anything like university training, nor had he at that time any contact with the University of Franeker. Yet in 1759 and 1760, as a result of his studies, he was able to write an arithmetic book which even in our days evokes the admiration of the scientific world. This work of 665 handwritten pages, is divided into seven parts.

Eisinga was still only seventeen when he completed it. In 1762 he wrote two more books. The first is entitled

 'Grondbeginselen der Astronomie of Starre-loopkunde op een Theoretische wijse ver- handeit' (Theory of the Basic Principles of Astronomy or Science of the Course of the Stars). The second book has the title 'Gnomonica of Sonnewijsers alle door passer en lijnjaal afgepast op de Noorderbreedte van Dronrijp' (Gnomonica or Sundials measured by compass and ruler from the northern latitude.of Dronrijp). At the end of 1762 Eisinga Vegan a fourth book. In this he drew and calcu- lated all the eclipses of the sun and the moon from 1762 to 1800.

When 24 years old he married Pietje Jacobs, a native of Hijlaard, and settled down as a woolcomber in Franeker. He remained true to his love of science.

But probably the idea to build a Planetarium would never have occurred to him if, in 1774, a most remarkable phenomenon had not appeared in the sky. in the early hours of Sunday the 8th of May, 1774, the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter all appeared with the Moon under the sign of Aries. It was this which induced Eisinga to build his Planetarium.

As it happened, the paper Leeuwarder Courant had announced publication of a booklet prophesying that this phenomenon heralded the crack of doom. The prophesy promptly caused panic, particularly in the country districts. The Provincial Authorities felt that they should take action. The booklet was confiscated and from the investigation which followed, the name of the author, Eelco Alta, a minister of the church at Bozum, became known. The Government then