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Adriaan Anthonisz (also known as Adriaen Anthonisz of Alcmaer) (1527–1607) was a Dutch
Adriaan Anthonisz (also known as Adriaen Anthonisz of Alcmaer) (1527–1607) was a Dutch mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
, surveyor
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
, cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
, and military engineer who specialized in the design of fortifications. As a mathematician Anthonisz calculated in 1585 the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, which would later be called pi.
Life
Anthonisz served asburgomaster
Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief m ...
(mayor) of Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...
in the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
from 1582.
Adriaan fathered two sons, and named them both Metius (from the Dutch word ''meten'', meaning 'measuring', 'measurer', or surveyor). They each became prominent members of society. Adriaan Metius
Adriaan Adriaanszoon, called Metius, (9 December 1571 – 6 September 1635), was a Dutch geometer and astronomer born in Alkmaar. The name "Metius" comes from the Dutch word ''meten'' ("measuring"), and therefore means something like "measurer" o ...
(9 Dec 1571 – 6 Sep 1635) was a Dutch geometer and astronomer. Jacob Metius Jacob (Jacobus; sometimes James) Metius (after 1571–1628) was a Dutch instrument-maker and a specialist in grinding lenses. He is primarily known for the patent application he made for an optical telescope in October 1608, a few weeks after H ...
worked as an instrument-maker and a specialist in grinding lenses and applied for patent rights for the telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
a few weeks after Middelburg spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey tried to patent the same device.
Career
In 1585 Anthonisz discovered that the ratio of a circle'scircumference
In geometry, the circumference (from Latin ''circumferens'', meaning "carrying around") is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to ...
to its diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest chord of the circle. Both definitions are also valid for ...
, later called pi, approximated the fractional value of . His son Adriaan Metius later published his father's results, and the value is traditionally referred to as Metius' number'.
He is regarded as one of the first military engineers to apply the principles of the Dutch fortification system.
Some of his professional accomplishments included mapping the Berger lake and expanding and fortifying Naarden
Naarden () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and former List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Gooi region in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been part ...
and Muiden.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adriaen Anthonisz 1541 births 1620 deaths 16th-century Dutch mathematicians Dutch military engineers Mayors of Alkmaar 16th-century Dutch engineers 17th-century Dutch engineers 16th-century Dutch military personnel 17th-century Dutch military personnel 17th-century Dutch mathematicians