Rudolph Goclenius the Elder (; born Rudolf Gockel or Göckel; 1 March 1547 – 8 June 1628) was a German scholastic philosopher. Gockel is often credited with coining the term "psychology" in 1590, though the term had been used by Marko Marulić at least 66 years earlier. Gockel had extensive backing, and made significant contributions to the field of ontology. He extended the development of many ideas from Aristotle. Several of Gockel's ideas were published and built upon by later philosophers. Life He was born in Korbach, Waldeck (now in Waldeck-Frankenberg, Hesse). He attended the universities at the University of Erfurt, the University of Marburg and the University of Wittenberg, where he finished his studies with a M.A. in 1571. In the following years he directed the gymnasiums in his hometown Korbach (1573) and in Kassel (Michaelmas 1575). In 1581, Landgrave Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel, who was a reputed astronomer, refused his wish to return to Korbach, but allowed him to be appointed professor at the Philipps University of Marburg, where he had the chairs of physics, logic, mathematics and ethics. He served as a counsellor to Wilhelm and his son Moritz. The latter sent him in 1618 to the Synod of Dort. Although he popularized the term "psychology," his major contribution was to the field of ontology. As a follower of Aristotle's work, Gockel gave the philosophy a name and continued in Aristotle's way of thinking. The philosophical discipline of Ontology is thought to have been developed in the 17th century by Goclenius. Goclenius became the subject of a satirical text by Johann Balthasar Schupp. According to Schupp, Goclenius said in his old age that his Analecta [Lichae 1598] was the best book of all he has ever written. Jeremias Nicolai, a student at Korbach Stadtschule from Autumn 1574 onwards, brother of Philipp Nicolai, reported that Goclenius "immediately" wrote a poem about "fiery air phenomena" (feurige Lufterscheinungen) that were seen in the city on November 14, 1574. It was published in Marburg the same year. City historian Wolfgang Medding has conjectured that the phenomena which provided the inspiration for Goclenius' poem might have been an aurora, an assumption which is supported by historical data. Later, he treated auroras ("chasmata") in a Physics textbook of 1604. Goclenius died of a stroke in Marburg on June 8, 1628. In his funeral speech on June 10, Wolfgang Loriseca called Goclenius a "leader