Jan Marek Marci (13.02.1595-10.04.1667) was a Czech scientist. He was born in Lanškroun. He studied at the University of Olomouc and graduated from the University of Prague (1625), where he worked (professor from 1630 and rector from 1662).
His research in physics concerned mechanics and optics. He considered (1639) the collision of hard spheres and showed the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions. In 1648 he discovered the dispersion of light and was the first to put forward the idea of the wave nature of light. He explained the rainbow and the colouring of thin films. Marci's work remained little known for a long time. His research also concerned mathematics and medicine.