Matthias Bernegger

Matthias Bernegger (Latin: Bernegerus, also Matthew; born 8 February 1582 in Hallstatt, Salzkammergut, died 5 February 1640 in Strassburg) was a German philologist, astronomer, university professor and writer of Latin works.

Bernegger's Protestant family was, like other so called exulanten, expelled from Habsburg Austria during the counter reformation. They settled in Regensburg, where Bernegger attended the Gymnasium. In 1599, the 17-year-old began studies in Strassburg, mainly in the fields of philology and natural sciences. He was fascinated by astronomy and was in contact with Johannes Kepler and Wilhelm Schickard.

Already in 1612, Bernegger had translated a 1606 Italian-language work of Galileo Galilei's into Latin, as Tractatus de proportionum instrumento.

In 1632, via their mutual friend Elia Diodati, Galilei asked Bernegger to translate his Italian-language Dialogo (Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems) into Latin. In order to protect Galilei's involvement, it was stated in the preface that one of Peter Crüger's pupils, Benjamin Engelcke, had traveled in 1632 to Italy, had met Galilei, and had brought Galilei's book to Bernegger to persuade him to translate, without Galilei's permission.

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