Johan Ludvig Heiberg

Who was Johan Ludvig Heiberg?

Johan Ludvig Heiberg was a Danish philologist and historian. He is best known for his discovery of previously unknown texts in the Archimedes Palimpsest, and for his edition of Euclid's Elements that T. L. Heath translated into English. He also published an edition of Ptolemy's Almagest.

Heiberg was born in Aalborg, the son of Johanne Henriette Jacoba and Emil Theodor Heiberg. Heiberg was Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Copenhagen from 1896 until 1924. Among his more than 200 publications were editions of the works of Archimedes, Euclid, Apollonius of Perga, Serenus of Antinouplis, Ptolemy, and Hero of Alexandria. Many of his editions are still in use today.