Friedrich Risner

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Friedrich Risner (died 1580) was a German mathematician from Hesse who spent much of his scholarly life at the University of Paris. He is known for his 1572 publication of "Opticae thesaurus: Alhazeni Arabis libri septem, nuncprimum editi; Eiusdem liber De Crepusculis et nubium ascensionibus", a Latinicized translation of the works of Ibn al-Haitham and Erazmus Ciolek Witelo, who were both early pioneers in the study of optics. His translation had great influence on mathematicians of that era, such as Kepler, Huygens, and Descartes.

Risner is also credited with construction of the first portable camera obscura to make artistic topographical drawings. He used a lightweight wooden hut, with a small holes and lenses in each wall, and had a cube of paper in the centre for drawing.

[edit] Reference

Friedrich Risner, Ed., Opticae thesaurus, Basel, 1572; with introduction by David Lindberg, NY: Johnson Reprint, 1972