Michael Stifel

Michael Stifel was a mathematician, university teacher, writer, and monk born in Esslingen am Neckar in 1487. A citizen of the Holy Roman Empire, he was educated at the University of Wittenberg and worked at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the University of Königsberg. He resided in Jena and worked in Annaburg and Upper Austria. Stifel’s fields of work included mathematics, Protestant theology, reform, and arithmetic. He spoke German and Latin and adhered to Lutheranism.

His notable works include *Arithmetica integra*, *Deutsche arithmetica*, and *Rechenbuch von der Welschen vnd Deutschen Practick auff allerely Vorthyl vnd Behendigkeit ...*. He also wrote *Wider Doktor Murnars falsch erdycht Lyed von dem Vntergang christlichs Glaubens* and *Von der christförmigen*. Stifel was associated with Philipp Melanchthon. He died in Jena on April 19, 1567. His life and work have been described by sources such as the *Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie* and the *Granat Encyclopedic Dictionary*.