On October 9, 1623 Ferdinand Verbiest was born in the town of Pittem (present-day Belgium). Of his early years it is only known that he studied humanities, philosophy and mathematics in Bruges, Cortrique and Louvain. On September 2, 1641 he entered the Society of Jesus, which sent him to Seville to study theology. In the Spanish city he was ordained a priest in 1655 at the age of 32. In Rome he completed his training by studying astronomy.

Ferdinand wanted to be a missionary in Central America, but the Society had other plans for him. Protestantism was thinning the ranks of Catholics in Europe and the Church set its sights on the Far East to keep adding to its numbers. So on April 4, 1657, he embarked from Lisbon for China, accompanied by 35 other missionaries and the Portuguese viceroy of the Indies.

The instruments created by Verbiest at the Beijing Imperial Observatory. Photo: Thomas Childe/Wikimedia