Willem Janszoon Blaeu

TL;DR

This paper details the life and work of Willem Janszoon Blaeu, highlighting his contributions to cartography, instrument making, and astronomy in the early 17th century.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of Blaeu's innovations in map publishing, instrument design, and astronomical observations, emphasizing his role in scientific and technological advancements.

Findings

Founded a major cartographic publishing firm in 1599

Made significant astronomical observations including a variable star

Invented mechanical printing devices

Abstract

This article describes the life and work of Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), who founded one of history's greatest cartographic publishing firms in 1599. Mostly renowned as a cartographer, he also made terrestrial and celestial globes, various instruments such as quadrants, a planetarium and a tellurium. He invented mechanical devices for improving the technics of printing. As an astronomer, a former student of Tycho Brahe, Willem Blaeu made careful observations of a moon eclipse, he discovered a variable star now known as P Cygni, and carried out a measurement of a degree on the surface of the earth (as his countryman Snell did in 1617).