Willebrord Snellius
Mathematician, Academic
1580 – 1626
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Who was Willebrord Snellius?
Willebrord Snellius was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, known in the English-speaking world as Snell. In the west, especially the English speaking countries, his name has been attached to the law of refraction of light for several centuries, but it is now known that this law was first discovered by Ibn Sahl in 984. The same law was also investigated by Ptolemy and in the Middle Ages by Witelo, but due to lack of adequate mathematical instruments their results were saved as tables, not functions.
The lunar crater Snellius is named after Willebrord Snellius.
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- Born
- Jun 13, 1580
Leiden - Also known as
- Willebrord Snel van Royen
- Nationality
- Netherlands
- Profession
- Education
- Leiden University
- Employment
- Leiden University
- Died
- Oct 30, 1626
Leiden
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
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"Willebrord Snellius." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/willebrord_snellius>.
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