Select a person:


Petrus Plancius (1552 - 1622)


Field(s) of interest: scientific instruments | astronomy | cartography | geography | mathematics
Gender: male

Born: Dranoutre, 1552
Died: Amsterdam, 15-05-1622

Biography:
Plancius was clergyman but also astronomer, cartographer, geographer, mathematician and instrument maker. He came to Amsterdam in 1585 and was teacher in navigation. He made an instrument for finding the longitude on sea (for which he received a patent of the Staten van Holland). He delivered globes and sea maps: it is uncertain whether he made these himself. Plancius 'made' three globes with Pieter van den Keere. Plancius was the author and Van den Keere the publisher. Was associated with, among others: Jodocus Hondius, Hessel Gerrits and Willem Barents.

Collection: Maritiem Museum Prins Hendrik Rotterdam; Scheepvaart Museum Amsterdam; Skokloster Sweden; Museo Astronomico, Rome.

Occupations:
Instrument maker (Amsterdam)

clergyman

teacher of navigation (Amsterdam)

Sources:
Rooseboom, M. Bijdrage tot de geschiedenis der instrumentmakerskunst in de noordelijke Nederlanden (Leiden 1950).

Losman, A. en I. Sigurdsson. Äldre vetenskapliga Instrument på Skokloster : Scientific Instruments of the 16th-18th centuries at Skokloster Castle (Uppsala 1975).

Keuning, J. Petrus Plancius : theoloog en geograaf 1552-1622 (Amsterdam 1946).

Krogt, Peter van der. Old globes in the Netherlands : a catalogue of terrestrial and celestial globes made prior to 1850 and preserved in Dutch collections (Utrecht 1984).