Do we need some silly, feelgood history? I think so. The bloke whose story I’m going to tell, Athanasius Kircher, was one of history’s silliest men. Yet, at the same time, his silliness - &wide-eyed wonder - might just have helped the world become what it is today. THREAD 1/ 
Athanasius Kircher was what we’d call a German, today. Born in 1602, in the modern-day German state of Hesse, he came from a family of scholars. He was a bright kid, learned Latin and Hebrew, the kind who took to his studies straight away. Always had his head in a book. /2
At the same time, however, Athanasius was almost pathologically incapable of not cheating death. Playing as a kid, he fell in a river & was carried through a water-mill, unscathed. Later, he badly injured himself skating on ice & developed gangrene… only for it to clear up! /3
Some have suggested that Athanasius’ regular brushes with death gave him the idea that he was somewhat invincible. This is doubly alarming considering the age in which he reached adulthood - the Thirty Years War was raging across the Continent. /4
During his journeys to and from his schooling as a Jesuit priest, not only did he fall through some thin ice into *another* river, but also was caught by Protestant soldiers. They almost hanged him, until one was impressed at his calm, and told the rest to let him go. /5
Athanasius held a few teaching gigs as a young Jesuit priest, ending up in Wuerzburg, where he taught maths and languages. His reputation would only grow when he had a vision of Protestant troops arriving at his university - he packed up and left. Sure enough, they did! /6
Athanasius spent the next few years in France until he was asked to replace Johannes Kepler as the imperial astronomer. The first time he set sail, he was marooned, and had to hitch a ride back! The second time, his ship was blown off course all the way to Rome! /7
Now this is where things get really weird. Heading into Rome, to make new arrangements to get to Vienna, he discovered that in the interim, he’d been seconded to the Roman College as Professor of Mathematics! No further travel required! He was probably fairly happy with that. /8
From this point, Athanasius devoted most of his time to his interests, his teaching gig slowly fading into the background. He was obsessed with harmonics, magnetism, the natural world and hieroglyphics and threw himself wholly into their study - sometimes forgetting to eat. /9
Athanasius would write volumes on hieroglyphics, attempting to decipher fragments around Rome, both in colleges & in public spaces (brought back during Roman conquests). It was almost all *entirely* wrong, but his excited, consistent approach would inspire later generations. /10
Athanasius also made journeys outside Rome. While chaperoning a German duke around Italy, he took the opportunity to have himself lowered into Mt Vesuvius, where he made observations that would inform his work on geography, ‘Mundus Subterraneus’ - also almost entirely wrong. /11
(You see, Athanasius thought that the world was riddled with fissures, like a piece of blue cheese, with wind stoking great fires responsible for eruptions and smoke billowing forth. Close, but no banana, Athanasius.) /12
During his career in Rome, in addition to publishing books (he was eventually taken off teaching), he would open what, arguably, may be the world’s first publicly-accessible museum, filled with wonders - fossils, plants, strange rocks, archaeological artefacts and more. /13
In fact, the ‘Kircherium’ was one of the tourist attractions of Rome, visited by people from all over the known world. So big did Kircher’s collection grow that the college had to find new digs for it. All the while, Athanasius was there to answer questions. /14
In his downtime, Athanasius also created absolutely wild inventions, such as talking automatons, massive loudspeakers & clocks running on magnetism. More fancifully, drew up plans for a cat-powered piano, that poked the poor creatures to create notes. He never built it. /15
It must be said that Athanasius was only considered a crackpot by our standards. At the time he was considered one of the brightest minds in Europe, with a communications network second to none. He was an essential hub in the correspondence that kickstarted the Enlightenment. /16
He also got it right sometimes. During outbreaks of plague, he used the new ‘microscope’ to observe ‘small creatures’ in samples taken from victims he was treating, & he correctly identified them as responsible for the disease - although he did not take this further. /17
By the time he died, in November 1680, Athanasius had inspired some of the greatest minds in Europe to explore the world around them, thanks to his boundless curiosity and enthusiasm. He left behind a mass of documents and objects which even today are treated with reverence. /18
If you would like to know more about Athanasius Kircher, here’s an excellent biography. /19 strangescience.net/kircher.htm
If you’re motivated to read a book about Athanasius’ life, ‘A Man of Misconceptions’ is how I discovered the man. /20 amazon.co.uk/Man-Misconcept…
Hope you enjoyed that. I love the story of clumsy old Athanasius & his theories. In an age of cynicism & mistrust, it feels good to hear about someone who didn’t let a very dark and dangerous world stop him from learning about - and sharing his love for - all around him. /FIN
