Albertus Magnus

Albertus Magnus was a German Dominican friar who became famous for his comprehensive knowledge and for demonstrating that the study of nature was compatible with religious faith. He was one of the first medieval scholars to apply Aristotle's philosophy to Christian theology and to comment extensively on his works. He also wrote on various topics such as logic, metaphysics, ethics, politics, law, psychology, astronomy, astrology, alchemy, zoology, botany, mineralogy, and medicine. He was a prolific author who produced more than 70 books and over 300 treatises. He was also an influential teacher who had many notable students, such as Thomas Aquinas, Ulrich of Strasbourg, and Roger Bacon. Albertus was born around 1200 in Lauingen, a town in the Duchy of Bavaria (now part of Germany). He studied at the University of Padua and joined the Dominican Order in 1223. He then taught at various Dominican schools in Germany and France, where he became acquainted with the works of Aristotle and other Greek and Arabic philosophers. He was appointed as the provincial of the German Dominicans in 1254 and as the bishop of Regensburg in 1260. He resigned from his episcopal office in 1262 and returned to teaching and writing. He participated in several papal missions and councils and defended the orthodoxy of his former student Thomas Aquinas against some accusations of heresy. He also conducted experiments on natural phenomena and collected specimens of plants and minerals. Albertus died on November 15, 1280 in Cologne, where he was buried in the Dominican convent. He was beatified in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV and canonized in 1931 by Pope Pius XI. He was also declared a Doctor of the Church and the patron saint of natural scientists. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest philosophers and scientists of the Middle Ages and as a precursor of modern science.