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Isaac Vossius (1618 - 1689)


Field(s) of interest: Language | natural philosophy | scientific instruments
Gender: male

1618
21-02-1689

Biography:
Philologist, natural philosopher and book collector, who -among others- wrote about geography, literature and optics. He traveled to Italy, France and England (1642). At the request of Queen Christina (1649-1652) he went to Sweden and sold her his father's library. In 1670 Vossius left for England where he became the Canon of Windsor (1673). After his death his library, which was reputed to be the finest private library in the world, was sold to the University of Leyden. Vossius is also known to have made his own microscopes.

Occupations:
philologist, physicist, writer and probably instrument maker: >1650

Sources:
http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/vossius-isaac-1618-1689/ (last seen: 15-01-2013).

Harting, P. Het mikroskoop : deszelfs gebruik, geschiedenis en tegenwoordige toestand; een handboek voor natuur- en geneeskundigen III (Utrecht 1858).

Velde, A.J.J. van de. Bijdrage tot de bibliographische geschiedenis van het microscoop I (Gent 1927).

Jorink, E. and D. van Miert. Isaac Vossius (1618-1689), between science and scholarship (Leiden 2012).

Bonanni, Ph. Observationes circa viventia, quae in rebus non viventibus reperiuntur : Cum micrographia curiosa sive rerum minutissimarum observationibus, quae ope microscopii recognitae ad vivum experimutur ... (Roma 1691).