Alessandro Piccolomini
![Cover of ''Filosofia naturale''.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Piccolomini.jpg)
The treatises ''Sfera del mondo e De le stelle fisse'' (The sphere of the world and The fixed stars) (1540), in which he adhered to Ptolemaic theories, were some of his major contributions to the field of astronomy. ''De le stelle fisse'' contained what is generally regarded as the first printed star atlas, consisting of charts of 47 of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations (Equuleus was missing). Stars down to fourth magnitude were shown, based on Ptolemy’s catalogue in the ''Almagest''. In this atlas Piccolomini labelled the stars with Roman letters, a forerunner of the system of Greek letter identifications that was introduced by Johann Bayer over 60 years later.
Piccolomini also wrote, at the behest of Cosimo de' Medici, a proposal for reforming the calendar (1578). In 1574 Pope Gregory XIII appointed him titular bishop of Patras (Patrae) and Coadjutor Archbishop of Siena.
His comedy ''Alessandro'' was adapted by George Chapman into ''May Day'' (printed 1611).
The lunar crater Piccolomini is named after him. Provided by Wikipedia
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