Thomas Harriot (1560-1621) was a pioneer in both the figurative and literal sense. Navigational adviser and loyal friend to Sir Walter Ralegh, Harriot took part in the first expedition to colonize Virginia. Not only was he responsible for getting Ralegh's ships safely to harbor in the New World, once there he became the first European to acquire a working knowledge of an indigenous language (he also began a lifelong love of tobacco, which may have been his undoing). Harriot's abilities were seemingly unlimited and nearly awe-inspiring. He was the first to use a telescope to map the moon's craters, and, independently of Galileo, discovered and recorded sunspots. He preceded Newton (whose fame eclipsed his) in his discovery of the properties of the prism. He was arguably the best mathematician of his age, and one of the finest experimental scientists of all time.
Yet Harriot has traditionally remained a tantalizingly elusive character. He had no close family to pass down records, and few of his letters survive. Most importantly, he never published his scientific discoveries, and half a century after his death he had all but been forgotten. In recent decades, many (self-styled "Harrioteers") have become obsessed with restoring to Harriot his right place, but Robyn Arianrhod's biography is the first actually to do this, and she has done it the only way it can be done: through his science. Using Harriot's re-discovered manuscripts, Arianrhod illuminates the full extent of his achievements in science and physics, expertly guiding us through what makes them original and important, and the story behind them. Because he hadn't yet polished them for publication, Harriot's papers also proffer unique insight into the scientific process itself.
Though his thinking depended on a more natural, intuitive approach than those who followed him, Harriot laid the foundations of what in Newton's time would become modern physics. Arianrhod's biography offers the human face of scientific discovery, a lived example of the way in which science actually progresses. Set against the backdrop of the Elizabethan world with all of its dramas and creative tensions--Harriot's years almost exactly overlap those of Shakespeare's--this biography gives proper due to one of history's most remarkable minds.
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While other historians less literate in science and mathematics might have written Harriot's biography in a different manner, she has provided to us a well-written guide to this mysterious scientist who measured everything during the six productive decades of his life. * Larry E. Tise, East Carolina University and Philadelphia, North Carolina Historical Review * "As Robyn Arianrhod's important biography makes abundantly clear, Harriot truly deserves the title "Renaissance Man"Robyn Arianrhod's diligent research establishes Harriot's reputation as a harbinger of modernity, but perhaps history has left us a more specific clue as to the true nature of his legacy." Times Literary Suppliment "In a largely harmonious meld of biography and science writing, Arianrhod furthers the drive to resurrect the reputation of English mathematician Thomas Harriot (1560-1621).The author, a research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, writes with the authority of a distinguished professor, placing Harriot's achievements in the context of his era and of the evolution of science... A significant achievement that builds on previous works and takes the next step in establishing Harriot's genius." --Kirkus, *Starred* Review [A] readable and important book which can only be recommended to introduce Thomas Harriot to a wider audience. * Thomas Sonar, Braunschweig, zbMATH * I learned much from the many enjoyable hours I spent reading this captivating book. In embarking on this wellcrafted literary work you will soon develop a confident sense that either Harriot is with you in the room, or you are with him on the high seas on Sir Walter Raleigh's Tiger. The elegant writing gracefully guides us past mathematical and scientific hurdles in a joyful time-traveling page-turner that never slows down. When you get to the last page and look back, you will feel that you know the man, a fellow so energetic and so guided by formidable curiosity that you wonder how such a person could possibly have disappeared from history. You will remember this book as a time journey in reverse with the wind in your sails all the way through. * Joseph Mazur, The Mathematical Intelligencer * Robyn Arianrhod's biography of Thomas Harriot (1560{1621) is well researched and well written, and it will be read with pleasure by scholar and layperson alike. * William R. Shea, Mathematical Reviews Clippings * this is a marvelous book because of the engaging way it is told, very much unlike a dull biography with an enumeration of facts. Moreover it is also well documented by additional material to be found in the last 100 pages of the book ... On this canvas Arianrhod paints the bubbling emergence of the Scientific Revolution to which Harriot was a silent contributor. * Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society * "Arianrhod's seamless blend of storytelling and science puts Harriot into full historical context. Though he inhabited a world of court intrigues, plague, and political upheaval, Harriot's unflagging intellectual curiosity set him apart then, and makes him more than worthy of respect now, as this fascinating biography amply proves." --Publishers Weekly "At long last a first-rate biography of Thomas Harriot. Though unknown to many, Harriot's scientific work casts a long shadow, and for 'Harrioteers,' as his fans are known, Robyn Arianrhod's beautifully written and deeply researched book is the one we've been waiting for. A triumph and a must read!" --Jimmy Soni, author of Mind at Play "Explorer, navigator, astronomer, linguist, mathematician, and natural scientist, Thomas Harriot was all of these and more. His accomplishments rivaled Galileo and Kepler, but his reluctance to publish doomed him to relative obscurity. With beautiful prose, astute historical understanding, and impeccable mastery of a near-inexhaustible array of fields, Robyn Arianrhod resurrects the life and works of this enigmatic Renaissance man. The world of an Elizabethan sage who was an intimate of the greatest soliders, scholars, and poets of the age springs to life in Arianrhod's pulsating narrative." --Amir Alexander, UCLA, author of Infinitesimal "Robyn Arianrhod restores Harriot to his rightful place alongside Galileo and Kepler in the pantheon of pioneering early modern scientists and shows how, as one friend put it, he was 'robbed of glory.' Thomas Harriot: A Life in Science is a wonderful combination of biography, history, and popular science that pulses with the spirit of its time." --Jessie Childs, author of God's Traitors The story of Thomas Harriot's life and works, was it not so well documented by such a respected scholar as Dr. Arianrhod, could easily be thought a work of pure fiction - and extravagant, scarcely believable fiction at that. Yet it is all true. That Dr. Arianrhod has devoted the time and effort in bringing him back to us through this absolutely captivating biography is something for which we should all be deeply grateful, and in similar gratitude, we owe it to the memory, indeed, the unrelentingly curious and inquiring spirit, of Thomas Harriot himself, to read it. * The Well-Read Naturalist *
Robyn Arianrhod is Adjunct Research Fellow at the School of Mathematical Sciences at Monash University. Her previous works include Seduced by Logic and Einstein's Heroes.
Autor*in
Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Mathematical SciencesAdjunct Research Fellow, School of Mathematical Sciences, Monash University
Prologue
Chapter 1: Harriot's London
Chapter 2: Sea Fever
Chapter 3: The Science of Sea and Sky
Chapter 4: Practical Navigation (and Why the Winds Blow)
Chapter 5: America at Last
Chapter 6: Preparing for "Virginia"
Chapter 7: Roanoke Island
Chapter 8: After Roanoke
Chapter 9: War, and a New Calendar
Chapter 10: New Chances
Chapter 11: Setback
Chapter 12: Royal Refraction
Chapter 13: Spirals and Turmoil
Chapter 14: Changing of the Guard
Chapter 15: Algebra, Rainbows, and Tragedy
Chapter 16: Solving the Rainbows
Chapter 17: Conversations with Kepler
Chapter 18: Atomic Speculations
Chapter 19: Searching the Skies
Chapter 20: Gravity
Chapter 21: Mathematics, Jamestown, Guiana
Chapter 22: The End of an Era
Chapter 23: All Things Must Pass
Epilogue: Resurrecting Harriot
