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John Blagrave
John Blagrave of Reading (d. 1611) was an English Tudor mathematician, astronomer and designer of astronomical and mathematical instruments. His astrolabe designs, which he described in his writings, were advanced for Britain. He devoted himself to mathematical study and was called, by Anthony à Wood, "the flower of mathematicians of his age" Biography John Blagrave was born as the second son to John Blagrave of Bullmarsh and Anne (daughter of Sir Anthony Hungerford of Down Ampney) in Berkshire at an unknown date sometime in the 1560s. The Blagraves were a branch of that landed gentry family of Calcot Park, Berkshire. He was educated in Reading School and went to St John's College, Oxford for an education in mathematics, though he never received a degree. Blagrave married the widow Dorothy Gunter (daughter of Simon Gunter of Milton Lilbourne in Wiltshire). He had no issue himself but had a step-daughter, Jane, from his wife. In 1591, his father gave him a lease on some South ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Laurence's Church, Reading
St Laurence's Church is a Church of England mission and former parish church in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It is situated alongside the site of Reading Abbey, formerly bounded by the main Compter Gate to the south and the Hospitium of St John to the north. What was once the private chapel of the latter institution still remains in the north aisle. The church is a Grade I listed building. History St Laurence's was one of the three original parish churches, along with St Mary's and St Giles', serving the medieval borough of Reading. It was built to serve the people of the eastern part of the town. Its location next to the Abbey stimulated trade in that part of the town and St Laurence's soon became surrounded by a large market place which included a pillory and stocks. The church dates from the Norman period but underwent major rebuildings in 1196, in the 15th century and in 1867. The building is of flint with ashlar quoins. The principal feature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Blagrave
Daniel Blagrave (1603–1668) was a prominent resident of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. He was Member of Parliament for the Parliamentary Borough of Reading over several periods between 1640 and 1660, and was also one of the signatories of King Charles I's death warrant. Of a branch of the Blagraves of Calcot Manor, near Reading,Burke's Landed Gentry, 17th edition, edited by L. G. Pine, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1952, pages 200-201 Daniel Blagrave was educated at Reading School and trained to be a lawyer. Daniel Blagrave's uncle was the mathematician John Blagrave of Southcote Manor, in what is now the Reading suburb of Southcote, and Daniel inherited the manor on John's death. In 1643 he permitted the Earl of Essex to use the manor as the Roundhead headquarters during the Siege of Reading. He was Recorder of Reading from 1645 to 1656 and again from 1658. During the Commonwealth, Daniel Blagrave held various commissions and posts, and is said to have ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
17th-century English Mathematicians
The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 ( MDCI), to December 31, 1700 ( MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the Baroque cultural movement, the latter part of the Spanish Golden Age, the Dutch Golden Age, the French ''Grand Siècle'' dominated by Louis XIV, the Scientific Revolution, the world's first public company and megacorporation known as the Dutch East India Company, and according to some historians, the General Crisis. From the mid-17th century, European politics were increasingly dominated by the Kingdom of France of Louis XIV, where royal power was solidified domestically in the civil war of the Fronde. The semi-feudal territorial French nobility was weakened and subjugated to the power of an absolute monarchy through the reinvention of the Palace of Versailles from a hunting lodge to a gilded prison, in which a greatly expanded royal court could be more easily k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
16th-century English Mathematicians
The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th century is regarded by historians as the century which saw the rise of Western civilization and the Islamic gunpowder empires. The Renaissance in Italy and Europe saw the emergence of important artists, authors and scientists, and led to the foundation of important subjects which include accounting and political science. Copernicus proposed the heliocentric universe, which was met with strong resistance, and Tycho Brahe refuted the theory of celestial spheres through observational measurement of the 1572 appearance of a Milky Way supernova. These events directly challenged the long-held notion of an immutable universe supported by Ptolemy and Aristotle, and led to major revolutions in astronomy and science. Galileo Galilei became a champion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alumni Of St John's College, Oxford
Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women. The word is Latin and means "one who is being (or has been) nourished". The term is not synonymous with "graduate"; one can be an alumnus without graduating ( Burt Reynolds, alumnus but not graduate of Florida State, is an example). The term is sometimes used to refer to a former employee or member of an organization, contributor, or inmate. Etymology The Latin noun ''alumnus'' means "foster son" or "pupil". It is derived from PIE ''*h₂el-'' (grow, nourish), and it is a variant of the Latin verb ''alere'' "to nourish".Merriam-Webster: alumnus .. Separate, but from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1611 Deaths
Events January–June * February 27 – Sunspots are observed by telescope, by Frisian astronomers Johannes Fabricius and David Fabricius. Johannes publishes the results of these observations, in ''De Maculis in Sole observatis'' in Wittenberg, later this year. Such early discoveries are overlooked, however, and the first sighting is claimed a few months later, by Galileo Galilei and Christoph Scheiner. * March 4 – George Abbot is enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury. * March 9 – Battle of Segaba in Begemder: Yemana Kristos, brother of Emperor of Ethiopia Susenyos I, ends the rebellion of Melka Sedeq. * April 4 – Denmark-Norway declares war on Sweden, then captures Kalmar. * April 28 – The ''Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario'' is established in Manila, the Philippines (later renamed Colegio de Santo Tomas, now known as the University of Santo Tomas). * May 2 – The Authorized King James Version of the Bible is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1560s Births
Year 156 ( CLVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silvanus and Augurinus (or, less frequently, year 909 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 156 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place America * The La Mojarra Stela 1 is produced in Mesoamerica. By topic Religion * The heresiarch Montanus first appears in Ardaban (Mysia). Births * Dong Zhao, Chinese official and minister (d. 236) * Ling of Han, Chinese emperor of the Han Dynasty (d. 189) * Pontianus of Spoleto, Christian martyr and saint (d. 175) * Zhang Zhao, Chinese general and politician (d. 236) * Zhu Zhi, Chinese general and politician (d. 224) Deaths * Marcus Gavius Maximus, Roman praetorian prefect * Zhang Daoling, Chinese Taoist master (b. AD 3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy and Great Friday), and Black Friday. Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, United Protestant and some Reformed traditions (including certain Continental Reformed, Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches), observe Good Friday with fasting and church services. In many Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist churches, the Service of the Great Three Hours' Agony is held from noon until 3 pm, the time duration that the Bible records as darkness covering the land to Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross. Communicants of the Moravian Church have a Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries. The date of Good Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir George Russell, 4th Baronet
Sir George Russell, 4th Baronet (23 August 1828 – 7 March 1898) was a British barrister and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1898. Russell was the third son of Sir Henry Russell, 2nd Baronet and his wife Marie Clotilde Mottet de la Fontaine. He was educated at Eton and Exeter College, Oxford. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1853 and went to the Oxford Circuit. In 1862 he became recorder of Wokingham. He was a County Court Judge of County Circuit No. 19 from 1866 to 1874, and of Circuit No. 49 from 1874 to February 1884. He succeeded his brother Charles as 4th baronet in 1883. In the 1885 general election, Russell was elected the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Wokingham. He served until his death at the age of 69 in 1898. Russell was elected Chairman of the South Eastern Railway (SER) on 24 January 1895, and served in that post until his death on 7 March 1898, being replaced by Cosmo Bonsor. During Russell's shor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat plate (the ''dial'') and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial. As the Sun appears to move through the sky, the shadow aligns with different hour-lines, which are marked on the dial to indicate the time of day. The ''style'' is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, though a single point or ''nodus'' may be used. The gnomon casts a broad shadow; the shadow of the style shows the time. The gnomon may be a rod, wire, or elaborately decorated metal casting. The style must be parallel to the axis of the Earth's rotation for the sundial to be accurate throughout the year. The style's angle from horizontal is equal to the sundial's geographical latitude. The term ''sundial'' can refer to any device that uses the Sun's altitude or azimut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David A
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the third king of the United Kingdom of Israel. In the Books of Samuel, he is described as a young shepherd and harpist who gains fame by slaying Goliath, a champion of the Philistines, in southern Canaan. David becomes a favourite of Saul, the first king of Israel; he also forges a notably close friendship with Jonathan, a son of Saul. However, under the paranoia that David is seeking to usurp the throne, Saul attempts to kill David, forcing the latter to go into hiding and effectively operate as a fugitive for several years. After Saul and Jonathan are both killed in battle against the Philistines, a 30-year-old David is anointed king over all of Israel and Judah. Following his rise to power, David ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ali Ibn Khalaf
Alī ibn Khalaf () was an Andalusian astronomer who belonged to the scientific circle of Ṣāʿid al- Andalusī. He devised, with help from al-Zarqali, the universal astrolabe. Both Khalaf and al-Zarqali's design were included in the ''Libros del Saber'' (1227) of Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ....Koenraad Van Cleempoel. "The Migration of Instrumental Knowledge from Flanders to Spain," in: ''Silent Messengers: The Circulation of Material Objects of Knowledge in the Early Modern Low Countries,'' Sven Dupré and Christoph Herbert Lüthy (eds.), (Transaction Publishers, 2011), p. 76. References {{Islamic astronomy 11th-century astronomers 11th-century Al-Andalus people Astronomers of Al-Andalus Al-Andalus scientific instrument makers Invent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
