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Friedrich Risner (c.1533 – 15 September 1580) (in R (e) Isner, Friedrich
at Deutsche Biographie
Risner is known for his 1572 publication of "''Opticae thesaurus: Alhazeni Arabis libri septem, nuncprimum editi; Eiusdem liber De Crepusculis et nubium ascensionibus, Item Vitellonis Thuringopoloni libri X''" (Optical Treasure: Seven books of Alhazen the Arab, published for the first time; His book On Twilight and the Rising of Clouds, Also of Vitello Thuringopoloni book X), an edition of works by Ibn al-Haitham (Alhazen) and Erazmus Ciołek Witelo (Vitello), two men who were both early pioneers in the field of
The Foundations of an Art; A "Prehistory" of Photography
* Friedrich Risner, Ed., Opticae thesaurus, Basel, 1572; with introduction by David Lindberg, NY: Johnson Reprint, 1972. {{DEFAULTSORT:Risner, Friedrich Year of birth uncertain 1580 deaths People from Bad Hersfeld 16th-century German mathematicians Optical physicists Collège de France faculty 16th-century German writers 16th-century German male writers
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...
Fridericus Risnerus) was a German 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
O ...
from Hersfeld, Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darms ...
. He was an assistant to Petrus Ramus
Petrus Ramus (french: Pierre de La Ramée; Anglicized as Peter Ramus ; 1515 – 26 August 1572) was a French humanist, logician, and educational reformer. A Protestant convert, he was a victim of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
Early life
...
(from around 1565) and was the first chair of mathematics at Collège Royale de France (1576).at Deutsche Biographie
Risner is known for his 1572 publication of "''Opticae thesaurus: Alhazeni Arabis libri septem, nuncprimum editi; Eiusdem liber De Crepusculis et nubium ascensionibus, Item Vitellonis Thuringopoloni libri X''" (Optical Treasure: Seven books of Alhazen the Arab, published for the first time; His book On Twilight and the Rising of Clouds, Also of Vitello Thuringopoloni book X), an edition of works by Ibn al-Haitham (Alhazen) and Erazmus Ciołek Witelo (Vitello), two men who were both early pioneers in the field of optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
. The publication became a major benefit to a number of mathematicians and scientists, such as Kepler
Johannes Kepler (; ; 27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws ...
, Snellius, Descartes and Huygens
He was the first to propose the idea of a portable camera obscura
A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a small hole or lens at one side through which an image is projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole.
''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions such as a box or tent in ...
, which purportedly was to be used as an aid in the creation of artistic works. His idea consisted of a lightweight wooden hut that had small holes fitted with lenses in each wall, and a cube of paper placed in the centre for drawing.
After St. Bartholomew's Day massacre
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French Wa ...
, Risner fled back to Hersfeld and died there eight years later. Risner was buried in Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda. The ruins are now a medieval festival venue.
History
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, where his gravestone is well preserved.
The Latin circumscription on the gravestone is: "Anno Domini 1580. 17. Cal. Octob. pie in Christo obiit clariss. vir Fridericus Risner insignis et praestantissimus Mathematicus qui hic terrae mandatus sonitum tubae expectat aetatis suae 47."
English translation of the inscription above is: "In year 1580 at 15th of September, died in Christ at the age of 47, the well famous Friedrich Risner, an outstanding, excellent mathematician, who passed to soil here, will expect the sound of trumpet."
References
The Foundations of an Art; A "Prehistory" of Photography
* Friedrich Risner, Ed., Opticae thesaurus, Basel, 1572; with introduction by David Lindberg, NY: Johnson Reprint, 1972. {{DEFAULTSORT:Risner, Friedrich Year of birth uncertain 1580 deaths People from Bad Hersfeld 16th-century German mathematicians Optical physicists Collège de France faculty 16th-century German writers 16th-century German male writers