John Blagrave
John Blagrave | |
|---|---|
Drawing of the funerary monument to John Blagrave in St Laurence's Church, Reading. Commissioned by Blagrave, the monument shows him surrounded by five female statuettes holding the five platonic solids. | |
| Born | Sometime in the 1560s |
| Died | 9 August 1611 Reading, Berkshire |
| Resting place | St Laurence's Church in Reading, Berkshire |
| Citizenship | English |
| Education | Reading School, St John's College |
| Known for | The Mathematical Jewel |
| Spouse | Dorothy Blagrave (née Gunter) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics, astronomy, design of instruments |
| Notable students | William Backhouse |
John Blagrave of Reading (d. 1611) was an English Tudor mathematician, astronomer and designer of astronomical and mathematical instruments. His astrolabe designs, which he described in his writings, were advanced for Britain. He devoted himself to mathematical study and was called, by Anthony à Wood, "the flower of mathematicians of his age"