Johannes Hevelius

Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius, by Daniel Schultz
Born	(1611-01-28)28 January 1611, Danzig (Gdańsk), Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Died	28 January 1687(1687-01-28) (aged 76), Danzig (Gdańsk) Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Fields	jurisprudence, astronomy, brewing
Alma mater	Leiden University
Known for	Lunar topography

Johannes Hevelius (in German also known as Hevel; Polish: Jan Heweliusz; (1611-01-28)28 January 1611 – 28 January 1687) was a councillor and mayor of Danzig (Gdańsk), then part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. As an astronomer he gained a reputation as "the founder of lunar topography" and described ten new constellations, seven of which are still recognized by astronomers.

According to the Polish Academy of Sciences (1975) the origin of the name goes back to the surname Hawke, a historical alternative spelling for the English word hawk, which changed into Hawelke or Hawelecke. In Poland he is known as Jan Heweliusz, According to Patrick Moore Hevelius is a Latinised version of the name Hewelcke other versions of the name include Hewel, Hevel, Hevelke or Hoefel, Höwelcke, Höfelcke. According to Feliks Bentkowski (1814) during his early years he also signed as Hoefelius, Ludwig Günther-Fürstenwalde (1903) reports, next to the usage of the Latinised version, Hevelius' signature as Johannes Höffelius Dantiscanus in 1631 and Hans Höwelcke in 1639.

Hevelius' father was Abraham Hewelke (1576–1649), his mother Kordula Hecker (1576–1655). They were German-speaking Lutherans, wealthy brewing merchants of Bohemian origin. As a young boy, Hevelius was sent to Gądecz (Gondecz) where he studied the Polish language.

Hevelius brewed the famous Jopen beer, which also gave its name to the "Jopengasse"/"Jopejska" Street, after 1945 renamed as Piwna Street (Beer Street), where the St. Mary's Church is located.