Kircher, Athanasius (1602-1680)

Catholic Christian

Fr. Athanasius Kircher, of the Society of Jesus, was known for a variety of scientific work, but also for the museum he constructed in the seventeenth century—a museum filled with everything from demonstrations of optical illusions and magnetic clocks, to lodestones and asbestos, to artifacts from the cultures of Egypt and China.

Click here for Vatican Observatory Faith and Science entries about Athanasius Kircher.