Johann Georg Palitzsch, German Astronomer
Johann Georg Palitzsch (June 11, 1723 - February 21, 1788) was a German astronomer. Raised to be a farmer, he secretly studied astronomy. He learned Latin and, at age 21, inherited the farm, which allowed him to construct his own botanical garden, library, laboratory, and museum. He received support from various benefactors, including the future King. He became famous for recovering Halley's Comet on Christmas Day, 1758. The periodic nature of this comet had been deduced by its namesake Edmond Halley in 1705, but Halley had died before seeing if his prediction would come true. When he died in 1788, at the age of 64, he left behind a library of 3518 books, partly consisting of handwritten copies he had created from scientific works too expensive for him to purchase.
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