Friedrich Risner

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Friedrich Risner (died 1580) was a German mathematician from Hersfeld [1], Hesse. He was a student of Petrus Ramus (1515-1572) and was the first chair of mathematics at Collège Royale de France. The exact year of Risner's birth is unknown, however it is believed to be around the year 1520.

He is known for his 1572 publication of "Opticae thesaurus: Alhazeni Arabis libri septem, nuncprimum editi; Eiusdem liber De Crepusculis et nubium ascensionibus, Item Vitellonis Thuringopoloni libri X", which was an edition of the works of Ibn al-Haitham and Erazmus Ciolek Witelo, who were both early pioneers in the study of optics. This publication was a major benefit to several famous mathematicians and scientists, including 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 fitted with lenses in each wall, and had a cube of paper in the centre for drawing.

[edit] References

• The Foundations of an Art; A "Prehistory" of Photography
• Friedrich Risner, Ed., Opticae thesaurus, Basel, 1572; with introduction by David Lindberg, NY: Johnson Reprint, 1972