Elias Allen and the role of instruments in shaping the mathematical culture of seventeenth-century England
Elias AlIen (c.1588-1653) was known as the best mathematical instrument maker of his day. He lived and worked in London, creating a thriving business - he was the first English instrument maker to support himself solely through the production of instruments - and teaching his skills to many apprentices who became the core of the trade during the latter part of the century. My thesis provides a full biography of Allen, set within the framework of the community of people who were in some way connected to mathematics. The second part of the dissertation is devoted to the most important of Allen's instruments: the Gunter quadrant aqd Gilnter sector, and various of William Oughtred's designs - the circles of proportion; the horizontal instrument and double horizontal dial, and the universal equinoctial ring dial. These are described, their uses explained, and used as the base for discussions of the ways in which instruments influenced and were influenced by the development of mathematics. This section concludes with a catalogue of all the Allen instruments in British museums. As well as a comprehensive literature survey of the mathematical texts printed in England during Allen's lifetime, I have given considerable
Higton, Hester Katharine
Mathematical instruments
Elias Allen and the role of instruments in shaping the mathematical culture of seventeenth-century England. Elias AlIen (c.1588-1653) was known as the best mathematical instrument maker of his day. He lived and worked in London, creating a thriving business - he was the first English instrument maker to support himself solely through the production of instruments - and teaching his skills to many apprentices who became the core of the trade during the latter part of the century. My thesis provides a full biography of Allen, set within the framework of the community of people who were in some way connected to mathematics. The second part of the dissertation is devoted to the most important of Allen's instruments: the Gunter quadrant aqd Gilnter sector, and various of William Oughtred's designs - the circles of proportion; the horizontal instrument and double horizontal dial, and the universal equinoctial ring dial. These are described, their uses explained, and used as the base for discussions of the ways in which instruments influenced and were influenced by the development of mathematics. This section concludes with a catalogue of all the Allen instruments in British museums. As well as a comprehensive literature survey of the mathematical texts printed in England during Allen's lifetime, I have given considerable
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