1729-1796

German astronomer famous for proposing a numerical rule describing the distance of the planets from the Sun (1766). Johann Bode uncovered Titius's work and popularized it (1772). Traditionally known as Bode's law but now referred to as Titius's law, the rule accurately accounted for the orbits of all known planets and the newly discovered Uranus (1781) and planetoids between Mars and Jupiter (1801). However, the law failed for both Neptune and Pluto.