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Description: | ASTRONOMY
London, England - Humphrey Cole is widely regarded as the most important scientific instrument maker of the Elizabethan age. His dated and fully signed instruments cover the period 1568-90 and include compendiums, astrolabes, surveyor's folding rules, a theodolite and an armillary sphere.
He held the office of Sinker of the Stamps at the Mint, for which he received a meagre stipend of £20 a year. He was understudy to Eloy Mestrell and may have been responsible for much of the best coinage of the reign of Elizabeth I. He was author of the first engraved map to appear in an English book.
He supplemented his income at the Mint by working as an engraver and instrument-maker. In 1576 he supplied the navigational equipment for Martin Frobisher's first voyage of discovery in search of the North-West passage to China. He may also have speculated in mineral ore. In 1577 and 1578 he was appointed as a Commissioner to test ore.
Cole died in reduced circumstances, leaving a widow, Elizabeth. | Publisher: | University of St Andrews | Rights holder: | 47795 | Subjects: | ARMILLARY SPHERE COLE AZIMUTH COMPASS PLANISPHERE CELESTIAL SPHERE LATITUDE HORIZON science UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENT HUMPHREY navigation ELIZABETHAN INSTRUMENT ALTITUDE PHYSICS | Temporal: | 1582/1582 | Source: | University of St Andrews | Creator: | COLE, Humphrey | Identifier: | PH203 | Language: | en-GB |
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