Johann Georg Palitzsch

Raised to become a successful farmer under a strict stepfather, Palitzsch secretly studied as much astronomy as he could from the books he could afford.

He learned Latin and, at age 21, inherited the farm, which allowed him to construct his own botanical garden, library, laboratory, and museum.

[2] Seeing Palitzsch's and Hoffman's report, Gottfried Heinsius published on January 18, 1759, that this confirmed Halley's prediction and that it was thereby proven that the comet was a celestial body in regular motion, not a portent of dire fortune.

Upon his death on 21 February 1788 Palitzsch left behind a library of 3518 books, partly consisting of handwritten copies he had created from scientific works too expensive for him to purchase.

His house was destroyed in the 1813 Battle of Dresden, but a nearby farmhouse has been converted into a museum, which contains a mockup of his estate, a model of the town of Prohlis, excavations from the area, and reproductions of his scientific publications.