Henry Billingsley

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Title page of his English translation of the Elements of Euclid, 1570

Sir Henry Billingsley (16th century; † November 22, 1606 ) was a wealthy English merchant, Lord Mayor of London and author of the first English translation of the elements of Euclid (1570).

He was the son of the merchant Sir William Billingsley. 1551 he was appointed as Lady Margaret Scholar at St John's College of the University of Cambridge approved and is in Oxford have studied, where he was taught by David Whyteman got interested in mathematics. He did not graduate, did an apprenticeship with a gentlemen's outfitter ( Haberdasher ), joined their guild in 1560 and became a wealthy businessman in London. In 1584 he became Sheriff of London , in 1585 Alderman of the Tower Guard and in 1596 Lord Mayor. From 1589 he was one of four customs collectors in the port of London ( Queen's Customer ). In 1603 he was elected Member of Parliament for the City of London .

His Euclid translation was an extensive (928 pages) folio volume, which was very well illustrated with drawings, which went so far that pieces of paper were glued into three-dimensional polyhedra on the corresponding pages in order to create these three-dimensionally. It was printed by John Day and provided with a detailed foreword by John Dee (which also gained importance independently in the history of mathematics as the popular introduction to mathematics in England at the time) and contained not only the translation of Proclus ' commentary , but others such as that by Dee himself for the final books of the elements. He may have been assisted with the translation by his old tutor, David Whyteman.

In 1591 he made three grants for poorer students at St John's College, Cambridge.

In 1597 he was knighted as a Knight Bachelor . He was married five times.

literature

  • Thomas Heath : The thirteen books of Euclid's Elements , Cambridge 1908, Volume 1, pp. 109/110
  • Anita McConnell: Article in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  • Diana M. Simpkins: Early editions of Euclid in England , Annals of Science, Volume 22, 1966, No. 4
personal data
SURNAME Billingsley, Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English businessman, mayor and mathematician
DATE OF BIRTH 16th Century
DATE OF DEATH November 22, 1606