by Henry Stevens
[Redactor’s note: Very little is known of Thomas Hariot; his only
published works are the ‘Briefe and true report’ (PG#4247) and the
posthumous ‘Praxis’, a handbook of algebra. He anticipated the law of
refraction, corresponded with Kepler, observed comets, and may have
been the first to recognize that the straight line paths of comets
might be segments of elongated ellipses. The lost ‘ephemera’ referred
to in the text have since been found (since 1876) and a conference was
held in 1970 at the University of Delaware on the current state of
Hariot research, the proceedings of which have been published by the
Oxford University Press, where one may find a fairly current view of
the historical record. Due to the large number of quotations and early
english typography, the casual reader may find the ‘html’ version
easier to follow than the text version.]
THOMAS HARIOT
THE MATHEMATICIAN
THE PHILOSOPHER AND
THE SCHOLAR
DEVELOPED
CHIEFLY
FROM
DORMANT MATERIALS
WITH NOTICES OF HIS ASSOCIATES
INCLUDING BIOGRAPHICAL AND
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DISQUISITIONS
UPON THE MATERIALS OF THE
HISTORY OF ‘OULD
VIRGINIA’