Johannes von Gmunden received the degree of a Master of Arts at the
University of Vienna in 1406. From 1408, he was a lecturer at Vienna, lecturing on
Aristotle's
Physics (1408) and
Meteora (1409, 1411),
Peter of Spain (1410) and
Algorismus de minutiis (1412). He fell seriously ill in 1412. In 1415 and 1416 studied theology, completing a
Bachelor of Theology in 1416. He continued lecturing only in 1419, on
algorismus de integris. From 1420, Johannes was permitted to restrict his teaching to the specialized field of the mathematics of astronomy, focusing on
Euclid's
Elements and the
Sphaera materialis of
John Holywood. With the aid of students (Weidler's 1741
Historia astronomiae names
Georg Pruneck of Ruspach, Georg of Neuenburg, Johannes Schinkel and Johannes Feldner) he compiled voluminous
astronomical tables. In 1425, he was elected
canon at
St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Georg von Peuerbach succeeded him at Vienna University in 1450. John's origins are somewhat disputed. He was probably born in
Gmunden,
Upper Austria, but there were also suggestions connecting him with
Gmünd, Lower Austria, or that he was a Swabian from
Schwäbisch Gmünd who studied in
Ulm in his youth, based on a document written at Ulm in 1404 by one "Johannes Wissbier de Gamundia". ==Legacy==