SNELLIUS, RUDOLPH

(1546–1613)

Mathematician and philolo gist; professor of mathematics and astronomy at Leiden Univer sity from 1581 and of Hebrew from 1585. Among his pupils were Isaac Beeckman and his own son Willibrord Snellius (1580– 1646), who became professor honorarius at the same university in 1615. He edited works of his contemporary Simon Stevin. Snel lius was famous for his improvement of triangulation, a new method of surveying.