Adriaan Adriaanszoon, called Metius, (9 December 1571 – 6 September 1635), was a Dutch
geometer
A geometer is a mathematician whose area of study is geometry.
Some notable geometers and their main fields of work, chronologically listed, are:
1000 BCE to 1 BCE
* Baudhayana (fl. c. 800 BC) – Euclidean geometry, geometric algebra
* ...
and
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...
born in
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 ...
. The name "Metius" comes from the Dutch word ''meten'' ("measuring"), and therefore means something like "measurer" or "surveyor."
Father and brother
Adriaan Metius was born in
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 ...
,
North Holland
North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
. His father, Adriaan Anthonisz, was a
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 ...
,
land-surveyor,
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 ...
, and
military engineer
Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...
who from 1582 served also as
burgomaster
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 chie ...
of Alkmaar.
Metius' brother,
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 ...
, worked as an instrument-maker and a specialist in grinding
lenses. Also born in Alkmaar, Jacob died between 1624 and 1631. Little is known of him besides the fact that, in October 1608, the
States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to:
Currently in use
* Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000
* States Gener ...
discussed his
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
application for an
optical telescope
An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through elect ...
of his own invention described as a device for "seeing faraway things as though nearby", consisting of a convex and concave lens in a tube, and the combination magnified three or four times.
Education
Adriaan Metius attended a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
school in Alkmaar and studied
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
in 1589 at the recently founded
University of Franeker
The University of Franeker (1585–1811) was a university in Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. It was the second oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University.
History
Also known as ''Academia Franekerensis ...
. He continued his studies at
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...
in 1594, where he studied under
Rudolph Snellius. He worked for a brief time under
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was ...
on the island of
Hven
Ven ( da, Hven, older Swedish spelling Hven) is a small Swedish island in the Øresund strait, between Scania and Zealand (Denmark). It is part of Landskrona Municipality, Scania County. The island has 371 inhabitants and an area of . During ...
, where Brahe had built two observatories, and subsequently worked at
Rostock
Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state ...
and
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...
, where he gave lectures in 1595. Subsequently, he returned to Alkmaar and assisted his father for a time as a military engineer inspecting
fortifications
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, and also worked as a teacher of
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
at
Franeker
Franeker (; fry, Frjentsjer) is one of the eleven historical cities of Friesland and capital of the municipality of Waadhoeke. It is located north of the Van Harinxmakanaal and about 20 km west of Leeuwarden. As of 1 January 2014, it had 12, ...
in
Frisia
Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ger ...
, his teaching especially geared towards the training of surveyors.
At the
University of Franeker
The University of Franeker (1585–1811) was a university in Franeker, Friesland, the Netherlands. It was the second oldest university of the Netherlands, founded shortly after Leiden University.
History
Also known as ''Academia Franekerensis ...
, he was appointed ''professor extraordinarius'' in 1598, and served from 1600 to 1635 as ''professor ordinarius'' of mathematics,
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
, surveying, military engineering, and
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
. He was permitted to teach in the vernacular instead of Latin. He served as rector of the university in 1603 and 1632.
With his father and brother he established an instrument making business which specialised in optical instruments. The family business seems to have manufactured the precision Jacob's staffs used by
Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was ...
for his star sightings.
a few months prior to Metius' death in 1635 he became once again fascinated with stars and planets recording his opinions and statements about his discoveries in a series of journals most of the pages of which, have been lost in 1882. A sole page from what many consider to be his last journal he called "Het einde" or "The End" was recently discovered and sold at a private auction to The Rockefeller foundation in 2017 for 32.9 million USD. alleged leaked photos of the private auction state that the page contains a brief message about what Adriaan Metius wrote regarding his vision of the future. Jay Rockefeller went on record stating he wishes to neither discuss his families purchase nor what it may or may not have said sparking controversy among Qanon followers and conspiracy theorists alike who claim when translated from Metius' native language of Dutch into English it is said to say the following
" John, A Man calls himself by Latin letter of Q will be used of light to shine light. he loves not evil nor wishes for it to exist in earth. will clean the world of those deemed corrupted seen by many to have hair like that of lion's with brown eyes. often putting upon garments of black with thin rope like fabric around his neck but soon seen no more from shadows he watches waiting to strike when the time is right when all is ready..."
Accomplishments
Though he scoffed at
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...
, Metius is said to have spent a lot of time pursuing
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
, especially the
philosophers' stone
The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", a ...
.
Metius published treatises on the
astrolabe
An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستارهیاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
and on
surveying
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 ...
. His works include ''Arithmeticæ et geometriæ practica'' (1611), ''Institutiones Astronomicae Geographicae'', and ''Arithmeticæ libri duo: et geometriæ libri VI'' (1640). Metius also manufactured astronomical instruments and developed a special form of
Jacob's staff
The term Jacob's staff is used to refer to several things, also known as cross-staff, a ballastella, a fore-staff, a ballestilla, or a balestilha. In its most basic form, a Jacob's staff is a stick or pole with length markings; most staffs ar ...
.
In 1585, his father had estimated the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, later called
pi, to be approximately . Metius later published his father's results, and the value is traditionally referred to as
Metius' number.
The
lunar crater
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated.
History
The wor ...
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 ...
is named after him.
In
Vermeer's painting ''
The Astronomer'' (1668), the book lying on the table has been identified as a 1621 second edition of Metius's ''Institutiones Astronomicae Geographicae''. It is opened to Book III, where "inspiration from God" is recommended for astronomical research along with knowledge of
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
and the aid of mechanical instruments.
References
External links
Galileo Project: Metius
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metius, Adriaan Adriaanszoon
1571 births
1635 deaths
People from Alkmaar
17th-century Dutch mathematicians
17th-century Dutch inventors
Dutch surveyors
17th-century Dutch scientists
Dutch scientific instrument makers
University of Franeker alumni
Leiden University alumni
University of Franeker faculty