In search of historical roots of the meteorite impact theory: Franz von Paula Gruithuisen as the first proponent of an impact cratering model for the Moon in the 1820s

Franz von Paula Gruithuisen (1774–1852), the Bavarian medic, physician, and astronomer, enfant terrible of German science, is known for his insightful observations and many extravagant conceptions. However, since the seminal monograph of Baldwin (1949), he is also referenced for early contributions to the meteoritic origin concept of lunar craters. His most commonly cited paper of 1828 is analyzed here for the first time in some detail. For...