Gualterus Arsenius (c. 1530 – c. 1580), also known as Gualterius Arsenius, Gautier Arsens, and Walter Arsenius, was a Flemish scientific instrument maker. He was the nephew of the mathematician and cosmographer

Gemma Frisius Gemma Frisius (; born Jemme Reinerszoon; December 9, 1508 – May 25, 1555) was a Frisian physician, mathematician, cartographer, philosopher, and instrument maker. He created important globes, improved the mathematical instruments of his d ...

(1508–1555), and he worked in

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

from 1555 to about 1570 (his presence there is still documented in 1579). The most prominent member of a family of scientific instrument makers, Arsenius produced exquisitely crafted and highly accurate devices such as

armillary sphere An armillary sphere (variations are known as spherical astrolabe, armilla, or armil) is a model of objects in the sky (on the celestial sphere), consisting of a spherical framework of rings, centered on Earth or the Sun, that represent lines of ...

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 ...

s, astronomical annuli (rings) and

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 ...

s, whose designs reveal the influence of his uncle and

Gerard Mercator Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and cartographer from the County of Flanders. He is most renowned for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection which represented sa ...

(1512–1594).

References

External links

{{Cite web, url=http://catalogo.museogalileo.it/biografia/GualterusArsenius.html, title=Museo Galileo - object description, last=, first=, date=, website=, publisher=, access-date= Scientific instrument makers Scientists of the Habsburg Netherlands Businesspeople from Leuven Scientists from Leuven 1530s births 1580s deaths