Albertus Magnus or Saint Albert the Great, equally popular as Albert of Cologne or Albert of Lauingen, was a 13th-century religious figure from the Duchy of Bavaria (in modern-day Germany). He was a Catholic Dominican friar and bishop and was made a saint of the church. While he was alive, he received the monikers Doctor universalis and Doctor expertus. Later, the sobriquet Magnus was added to the end of his name. According to numerous scholars, he is the greatest and most prolific of all Middle-Age German philosophers and theologians. Furthermore, he is recognized as one of the 36 Doctors of the Catholic Church. Albert was likely a student at the University of Padua. He later began teaching theology at the University of Paris, and one of his more prominent students was Thomas Aquinas. His writings, however, are comprised of more philosophical components than theological ones. Albert categorized the study of nature as a legitimate science within the Christian theology and wrote about a variety of subjects, including logic, theology, botany, geography, astronomy, astrology, alchemy, zoology, justice, law, friendship, and love. He was designated by a papal decree the patron saint of all who study the natural sciences, and his feast day falls on 15 November, the date on which he passed away in 1280.