Anthony van Dyck- Portret van pater Jan-Karel Della Faille s

Jean-Charles della Faille ( Dutch: Jan-Karel della Faille, Spanish: Juan Carlos della Faille), born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, 1 March 1597 and died in Barcelona, 4 November 1652, was a Flemish

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest from

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

, and a mathematician of repute. Faille, Jean Charles de la – Theoremata de centro gravitatis partium circulis et ellipsis, 1632 – BEIC 177030

He was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, part of the Spanish Empire at that time. He was educated at the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

school founded by

François d'Aguilon François d'Aguilon (also d'Aguillon or in Latin Franciscus Aguilonius) (4 January 1567 – 20 March 1617) was a Jesuit, mathematician, physicist, and architect from the Spanish Netherlands. D'Aguilon was born in Brussels; his father was a secret ...

, and joined the Jesuit

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

in 1613. He then went to a Jesuit college in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

for two years. Afterwards, he came back to Antwerp where, as one of the best

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 ...

' students of Grégoire de Saint-Vincent, he became also his disciple. In 1620, he went to

Dole Dole may refer to: Places * Dole, Ceredigion, Wales * Dole, Idrija, Slovenia * Dole, Jura, France ** Arrondissement of Dole * Dole (Kladanj), a village at the entity line of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska * Dole, Ljubuški, ...

, also part of the Spanish Empire, to teach

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 ...

and learn theology in view of being ordained to the priesthood. The ordination took place 10 April 1621. From 1626 to 1628, he taught mathematics at the Jesuit scholasticate of

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 ...

, before being appointed to the

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

in Madrid. He there advised

Philip IV Philip IV may refer to: * Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC) * Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy * Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506) * Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602) * Philip IV of Spain ...

, king of Spain, on military questions, specially fortifications, and taught mathematics as well. His most famous book is ''Theoremata de centro gravitatis partium circuli et ellipsis'' (1632) in which he determined the centre of gravity of the

sector of a circle A circular sector, also known as circle sector or disk sector (symbol: ⌔), is the portion of a disk (a closed region bounded by a circle) enclosed by two radii and an arc, where the smaller area is known as the ''minor sector'' and the larger ...

, for the first time. At the request of della Faille's family, the Flemish painter

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

painted a portrait of the mathematician in 1629. The portrait shows the mathematician in his Jesuit outfit with a set of tools (including a compass,The compass in the painting is the model of compass developed earlier by another mathematician established in Antwerpen, Michiel Coignet. Several of these compasses are on display in the "Ciencias Nauticas" Room of the Madrid Naval Museum. a t-square and a globe). He died in Barcelona, aged 55.

References

The Mac Tutor History of Mathematics

Portrait of Jan-Karel della Faille by Anthony van Dyck

External links

* 1597 births 1652 deaths Engineers of the Spanish Netherlands Catholic clergy scientists Clergy from Antwerp Jesuit scientists Mathematicians of the Spanish Netherlands Jesuits of the Spanish Netherlands Engineers from Antwerp {{europe-mathematician-stub

See also

References

External links