![Moxon A Map of the Earth 1681 Cornell CUL PJM 1012 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Moxon_A_Map_of_the_Earth_1681_Cornell_CUL_PJM_1012_01.jpg)
Joseph Moxon (8 August 1627 – February 1691),
hydrographer to
Charles II, was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
printer specialising in mathematical books and maps, a maker of globes and
mathematical instrument
A mathematical instrument is a tool or device used in the study or practice of mathematics. In geometry, construction of various proofs was done using only a compass and straightedge; arguments in these proofs relied only on idealized properties ...
s, and mathematical
lexicographer
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoretica ...
. He produced the first English-language dictionary devoted to mathematics, the first detailed instructional manual for printers, and the first English-language how-to books for tradesmen. In November 1678, he became the first tradesman to be elected as a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
.
Life
Between the ages of around 9 and 11, Moxon accompanied his father, James Moxon, to
Delft and
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
where he was printing English Bibles. It was at this time that Moxon learned the basics of printing.
Printer
After the
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...
the family returned to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and Moxon and his older brother, James, started a printing business which specialized in the publication of
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
texts, with the notable exception of ''A Book of Drawing, Limning, Washing or Colouring of Mapps and Prints'' of 1647 which was produced for
Thomas Jenner
Sir Thomas Jenner (1637–1707) was an English barrister, Baron of the Exchequer and Justice of the Common Pleas, closely associated with the Stuart kings Charles II of England, Charles II and James II of England.
Life
He was born at Mayfield, S ...
, a seller of maps.
In 1652, Moxon visited Amsterdam and commissioned the engraving of globe-printing plates, and by the end of the year was selling large celestial and terrestrial globes in a new business venture. He specialized in the printing of maps and charts, and in the production of globes, and mathematical instruments made of paper.
Moxon's ''Mechanick exercises'' was published in parts between 1677 and 1684. It was completed in two volumes: the first giving instructions on metalworking, woodworking, brick-laying and sundial-construction, and the second (issued 1683–1684) providing a detailed series of instructions for printers, including
typefounding
Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation ...
, composition, press-work etc., which have given printing historians much (probably idealised) information on the working practices of hand-press period printing-houses.
Hydrographer
In January 1662, he was appointed hydrographer to the King, despite his Puritan background. His shop at this time was on Ludgate Hill; afterwards, in 1683, it was 'on the west side of Fleet Ditch,' but always 'at the sign of Atlas.'.
Moxon theorized that the
Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...
was ice free, and warmed by twenty-four hours of sunlight in the summer. He also speculated that Arctic ice was created near land, and that if one sailed far enough northwards, one would be free of northern land masses and, subsequently, ice.
These views led him to believe that the
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...
would be found by sailing near the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
. These views later influenced
Daines Barrington
Daines Barrington, FRS, FSA (1727/2814 March 1800) was an English lawyer, antiquary and naturalist. He was one of the correspondents to whom Gilbert White wrote extensively on natural history topics. Barrington served as a Vice President of t ...
and
Samuel Engel, whose refinement of Moxon's ideas would influence
Captain Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
's Third Voyage in search of the Northwest Passage.
Death
When Moxon died in 1691 his estate and business was carried on by his son, mapmaker, engraver and instrument-maker James Moxon.
Works
''A Tutor to Astronomy & Geography. Or, The Use of the Copernican Spheres''. London (1665)''Mechanick Exercises or the Doctrine of Handy-Works'', 2 volumes. London (1677-1683).''A collection of some attempts made to the North-East, and North-West, for the finding a passage to Japan, China, &c.'' London (1676)With Thomas Tuttell. ''Mathematicks made easie, or, A mathematical dictionary explaining the terms of art and difficult phrases used in arithmetick, geometry, astronomy, astrology, and other mathematical sciences.'' London (1700)''Mechanick Exercises or the Doctrine of Handy-Works.'' London (1703 edition)
Notes
References
* Eells, W.C., "The First Mathematical Dictionary", ''The Mathematics Teacher'', Vol.54, No.4, (April 1961), pp.255-260.
* Hallerberg, A.E., "Joseph Moxon, Mathematical Practitioner", ''The Mathematics Teacher'', Vol.55, No.6 (October 1962), pp.490-492.
Hargrave, J.E. (2015), "Joseph Moxon: A Re-Fashioned Appraisal", ''Script & Print: Bulletin of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand'', Vol.39, No.3, (September 2015), pp.163-181.
* Jagger, G., "Joseph Moxon, FRS, and the Royal Society", ''Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London'', Vol.49, No.2, (July 1995), pp.193-208.
*
* Malone, E.A., "The Use of Playing Cards to Communicate Technical and Scientific Information", ''Technical Communication'', Vol.55, No.1 (February 2008), pp.49-60.
* Turner, A.J., "Mathematical Instruments and the Education of Gentlemen", ''Annals of Science'', Vol.30, No.1, (1973) pp.51-88.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moxon, Joseph
1627 births
1691 deaths
English lexicographers
17th-century English mathematicians
People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield
Fellows of the Royal Society
English hydrographers