Home > Willebrord Snell

Snell was born at Leiden. In 1613 he succeeded his father Rudolph Snell ( 1546— 1613) as professor of mathematics in the University of Leiden. In 1615 he planned and carried into practice a new method of finding the radius of the earth, by determining the distance of one point on its surface from the parallel of latitude of another, by means of triangulation. His work Eratosthenes Batavus ("The Dutch EratosthenesEratosthenes ( 276 BC 194 BC) was a Greek mathematician, geographer and astronomer with (probably) Chaldean origins. He was born in Cyrene (now Shahhat, Libya) and he died in Ptolemaic Alexandria. He is noted for devising a system of latitude and longitud"), published in 1617Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I ( 1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617- 1623). Francesco Andreini's The Penitent Magdalene is published. February 27 Peace is reached between Russia and Sweden with the Treaty of Stolbova, ending the In, describes the method and gives as the result of his operations between AlkmaarAlkmaar (population 95,000) is a city in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The municipality also comprises the following towns, villages and townships: Koedijk, Oudorp. These once separate villages are now all linked togethe and Bergen op ZoomBergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. Population centres Bergen op Zoom Halsteren Heimolen Kladde Klutsdorp Lepelstraat The city of Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom was granted city status in 1347. The Markiezenhof palace,—two towns separated by one degree of the meridian, which he measured to be equal to 117,449 yds (107.395 kmA kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer (symbol: km is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres. It is approximately equal to 0. 621 miles, 1094 yards or 3281 feet. Slang terms for kilometre include " klick" (or "click") and "kay". Click" is also used for). The actual distance is approximately 111 km. Snell was also a distinguished mathematician, producing a new method for calculating πOr pi with a lower-case p . minuscule, or lower-case, pi The mathematical constant (written as pi when the Greek letter is not available) is ubiquitous in mathematics and physics. In Euclidean plane geometry, π may be defined as either the ratio of a c — the first such improvement since ancient times. He discovered the law of refraction that is named after him in 1621Events February 9 Gregory XV is elected pope. February 17 Miles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth Colony March 22 The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags. March 16 Samoset, a Mohegan, visits. He died at Leiden on October 30, 1626.

In addition to the Eratosthenes Batavus he published Cyclometria sive de circuli dimensione ( 1621), and Tiphys Batavus ( 1624). He also edited Coeli et siderum in eo errantium observationes Hassiacae ( 1618), containing the astronomical observations of Landgrave William IV of Hesse. A trigonometry (Doctrina triangulorum) by him was published a year after his death.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911 Britannica