Samuel Marolois ( – before 1627) was a Dutch mathematician and military engineer who is best known for his work on perspective.

Life and work

Marolois (or Marlois) was born in the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

(possibly in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

) as son of Nicolas Marolois, a Protestant native of

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

who had been exiled from France and served the

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands. The title ...

. Marolois became a mathematician and earthworks engineer in the employ of

Maurice, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...

He was married to Hester le Maire, which made him a brother-in-law of the Amsterdam merchants Thomas le Maire and Pieter le Fevre. In March 1611, he bought a house in The Hague. After the death of

Ludolph van Ceulen Ludolph van Ceulen (, ; 28 January 1540 – 31 December 1610) was a German-Dutch mathematician from Hildesheim. He emigrated to the Netherlands. Biography Van Ceulen moved to Delft most likely in 1576 to teach fencing and mathematics and in 159 ...

, Marolois attempted unsuccessfully to succeed him as Chair of Mathematics in Leiden. Marolois wrote a book on perspective, , which was published in 1614 and printed many times in other languages including Dutch, German and Latin. The book had both theoretical and practical elements. The theoretical parts were mostly taken from the works of Guidobaldo del Monte, while the practical parts included many examples. In total, 275 figures are printed in the book. While Marolois' work contributed little to the mathematical theory of perspective, his book was influential in spreading awareness of the ideas. The artist

Joshua Kirby Joshua Kirby (1716, Parham, Suffolk – 1774, Kew), often mistakenly called John Joshua Kirby, was an English 18th-century landscape painter, engraver, writer, draughtsman and architect famed for his publications and teaching on linear perspect ...

later claimed it was one of the most important early books on perspective. Marolois was a military adviser to the Dutch Republic 1612–1619. His described the cheapest way to build fortifications. It was the first systematic treatment of the Dutch system of fortifications, using geometric operations to draw polygonal plans, and is famous for the drawing of the citadel of Coevorden. Marolois died in The Hague before 1627.

Albert Girard Albert Girard () (11 October 1595 in Saint-Mihiel, France − 8 December 1632 in Leiden, The Netherlands) was a French-born mathematician. He studied at the University of Leiden. He "had early thoughts on the fundamental theorem of algebra" and g ...

prepared an edition of his mathematical works that was published in 1628.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marolois, Samuel 16th-century births 17th-century deaths 17th-century Dutch mathematicians