Václav Prokop Diviš

Prokop Diviš
Born	26 March 1698(1698-03-26) Helvíkovice u Žamberka, Bohemia
Died	25 December 1765(1765-12-25) (aged 67) Přímětice u Znojma, Bohemia
Occupation	Priest

plaque of Václav Prokop Diviš by Jan Tomáš Fischer (1912–1957) at former Jesuits grammar school building in Jezuitské square in Znojmo

"machina meteorologica" invented by Václav Prokop Diviš worked like lightning rod.

bust of Prokop Diviš by Jan Tomáš Fischer in front of former Jesuits grammar college in Divišovo square in Znojmo.

Family house of Prokop Diviš, lightning rod on the right.

plaque on Václav Prokop Diviš`s family house

Prokop Diviš theatre in Žamberk with lightning rod on the top.

Václav Prokop Diviš (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvaːtslaf ˈprokop ˈɟɪvɪʃ]^[1] 26 March 1698 – 25 December 1765) was a Czech priest, theologian and natural scientist.

Diviš was born March 26 1698 in Helvíkovice, Bohemia (now Ústí nad Orlicí District, Czech Republic). It has been claimed that the lightning rod he erected in 15 June 1754 was invented independently of Benjamin Franklin,^[2] but this has been disputed by other scholars.^[3] He also constructed the first electrified musical instrument in history, the so-called Denis d'or.He died December 25 1765 in Přímětice (today part of) Znojmo, Moravia.

See also

• List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics

Notes

1. ^ "; German: Prokop Diwisch; Latin: Procopius Divis(ch)
2. ^ Hujer, Karel (December 1952). "Father Procopius Diviš — The European Franklin". Isis 43 (4): 351–357. doi:10.1086/348159. ISSN 0021-1753. JSTOR 227388. 
3. ^ Cohen, I. Bernard; Schofield, Robert (December 1952). "Did Diviš Erect the First European Protective Lightning Rod, and Was His Invention Independent?". Isis 43 (4): 358–364. doi:10.1086/348160. ISSN 0021-1753. JSTOR 227389. 

References

• Reinhard Breymayer. "Bibliographie zu Prokop Diviš". from Friedrich Christoph Oetinger's Die Lehrtafel der Prinzessin Antonia. Hrsg. von Reinhard Breymayer und Friedrich Häußermann. Teil 2. Anmerkungen. Berlin, New York 1977, pp. 431–453

• Luboš Nový (Ed.): Dějiny exaktních věd v českých zemích do konce 19. století. Prague 1961

External links

• "Procopius Divisch" in Catholic Encyclopedia (Divis died December 25, not December 21 as claimed there)
• Prokop Diviš Memorial.

Persondata
Name	Divis, Vaclav Prokop
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	26 March 1698
Place of birth	Helvíkovice u Žamberka, Bohemia
Date of death	25 December 1765
Place of death	Přímětice u Znojma, Bohemia