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Ole Christensen Rømer (pronounced [o(?)l? '?œ??m?] in Danish; 25 September 1644, Århus – 19 September 1710, Copenhagen) was a Danish astronomer who in 1676 made the first quantitative measurements of the speed of light. In scientific literature alternative spellings, such as "Roemer", "Römer", and "Romer", are common. Rømer was born 25 September 1644 in Århus to a merchant and skipper Christen Pedersen and Anna Olufsdatter Storm, daughter of an alderman. Christen Pedersen had taken to using the name Rømer, which means that he was from Rømø, to disambiguate himself from a couple of other people named Christen Pedersen.[1] There are few sources on Ole Rømer until his immatriculation in 1662 at the University of Copenhagen, at which his mentor was Rasmus Bartholin who published his discovery of the double refraction of a light ray by Iceland spar (calcite) in 1668 while Rømer was living in his home. Rømer was given every opportunity to learn mathematics and astronomy using Tycho Brahe's astronomical observations, as Bartholin had been given the task of preparing them for publication.[2] Rømer was employed by the French government Louis XIV made him teacher for the Dauphin, and he also took part in the construction of the magnificent fountains at Versailles. In 1681, Rømer returned to Denmark and was appointed professor of astronomy at the University of Copenhagen, and the same year he married Anne Marie Bartholin, the daughter of Rasmus Bartholin. He was active also as an observer, both at the University Observatory at Rundetårn and in his home, using improved instruments of his own construction. Unfortunately, his observations have not survived they were lost in the great Copenhagen Fire of 1728. However, a former assistant (and later an astronomer in his own right), Peder Horrebow, loyally described and wrote about Rømer's observations.
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