Samuel Foster
Encyclopedia
Samuel Foster was an English
mathematician
and astronomer
. He made several observations of eclipse
s, both of the sun and moon, at Gresham College
and in other places; and he was known particularly for inventing and improving planetary instruments
, he was admitted a sizar
at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, 23 April 1616, as a member of which he proceeded B.A. in 1619, and M.A. in 1623. On the death of Henry Gellibrand
, he was elected Gresham Professor of Astronomy
on 2 March 1636, but resigned later in the year and was succeeded by Mungo Murray. In 1641, Murray having vacated the professorship by his marriage, Foster was re-elected on 26 May.
During the civil war and Commonwealth he was one of the society of gentlemen who met in London for cultivating the 'new philosophy,' in the group around Charles Scarburgh. In 1646 John Wallis received from Foster a theorem on spherical triangles which he afterwards published in his Mechanica. Wallis's retrospective account of the origins of the Royal Society
made Foster's lectures a rendezvous of the London-based Scarburgh-Jonathan Goddard
group; but it is disputed to what extent this connection was with Gresham College
and its tradition, rather than simply the location.
Foster died at Gresham College in May 1652, and was buried in the church of St. Peter the Poor in Broad Street.
, his editors, state that long illness caused them to be left very imperfect, and Twysden complains that some people had taken advantage of his liberality by publishing his works as their own (Preface to Foster's Miscellanies). In the following list of his works the first two only were published by himself:
Foster left numerous manuscript treatises in addition to those printed by his friends. Of these two were in the possession of William Jones
, F.R.S.: 'The Uses of a General Quadrant,' and 'Select Uses of the Quadrant,' dated 1649.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
. He made several observations of eclipse
Eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer...
s, both of the sun and moon, at Gresham College
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
and in other places; and he was known particularly for inventing and improving planetary instruments
Life
A native of NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, he was admitted a sizar
Sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is a student who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job....
at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, 23 April 1616, as a member of which he proceeded B.A. in 1619, and M.A. in 1623. On the death of Henry Gellibrand
Henry Gellibrand
Henry Gellibrand was an English mathematician. He is known for his work on the Earth's magnetic field. He discovered that magnetic declination – the angle of dip of a compass needle – is not constant but changes over time...
, he was elected Gresham Professor of Astronomy
Gresham Professor of Astronomy
The Professor of Astronomy at Gresham College, London, gives free educational lectures to the general public. The college was founded for this purpose in 1596 / 7, when it appointed seven professors; this has since increased to eight and in addition the college now has visiting professors.The...
on 2 March 1636, but resigned later in the year and was succeeded by Mungo Murray. In 1641, Murray having vacated the professorship by his marriage, Foster was re-elected on 26 May.
During the civil war and Commonwealth he was one of the society of gentlemen who met in London for cultivating the 'new philosophy,' in the group around Charles Scarburgh. In 1646 John Wallis received from Foster a theorem on spherical triangles which he afterwards published in his Mechanica. Wallis's retrospective account of the origins of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
made Foster's lectures a rendezvous of the London-based Scarburgh-Jonathan Goddard
Jonathan Goddard
Jonathan Goddard was an English physician, known both as army surgeon to the forces of Oliver Cromwell, and as an active member of the Royal Society.-Life:...
group; but it is disputed to what extent this connection was with Gresham College
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
and its tradition, rather than simply the location.
Foster died at Gresham College in May 1652, and was buried in the church of St. Peter the Poor in Broad Street.
Works
He published little himself, but many treatises written by him were printed after his death, though John Twysden and Edmund WingateEdmund Wingate
Edmund Wingate was an English mathematical and legal writer, one of the first to publish in the 1620s on the principle of the slide rule, and later the author of some popular expository works...
, his editors, state that long illness caused them to be left very imperfect, and Twysden complains that some people had taken advantage of his liberality by publishing his works as their own (Preface to Foster's Miscellanies). In the following list of his works the first two only were published by himself:
- 'The Use of the Quadrant,' London, 1624. An octavo edition was published soon after the author's death in 1652 by A. Thompson, who says in his preface that the additional lines were invented, and the uses written, for an 'appendix' to Edmund GunterEdmund GunterEdmund Gunter , English mathematician, of Welsh descent, was born in Hertfordshire in 1581.He was educated at Westminster School, and in 1599 was elected a student of Christ Church, Oxford. He took orders, became a preacher in 1614, and in 1615 proceeded to the degree of bachelor in divinity...
's 'Quadrant;' only a few copies were printed alone for Foster's friends. Other editions appear among Gunter's 'Works,' 1653, 1662, and 1673. - 'The Art of Dialling; by a new, easie, and most speedy way,' London, 1638. An edition published in 1675, has several additions and variations taken from the author's own manuscript, and also a 'Supplement' by the editor, William LeybournWilliam LeybournWilliam Leybourn was an English mathematician and land surveyor.-Career as a printer:In 1651 Leybourn entered into a business partnership with Robert Leybourn as a printer and seller of books...
. John CollinsJohn Collins (mathematician)John Collins was an English mathematician. He is most known for his extensive correspondence with leading scientists and mathematicians such as Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Gottfried Leibniz, Isaac Newton, and John Wallis...
published in 1659 'Geometrical Dyalling, being a full explication of divers difficulties in the works of learned Mr. Samuel Foster.' - 'Posthuma Forsteri, the description of a ruler, upon which is inscribed divers scales and the uses thereof. Invented and written by Mr. Samuel Forster' [edited by Edmund Wingate], London, 1652.
- 'Elliptical or Azimuthal Horologiography, comprehending severall wayes of describing dials upon all kindes of superficies, either plain or curved; and unto upright stiles in whatsoever position they shall be placed. Invented and demonstrated by Samuel Foster' [edited by John Twysden and Edmund Wingate], 4 pts, London, 1654.
- 'Miscellanea: siue lucubrationes mathematics. Miscellanies: or Mathematical lucubrations of Mr. Samuel Foster, published, and many of them translated into English, by ... John Twysden. . . . Whereunto he hath annexed some things of his own. (Epitome Aristarchi Samii de magnitudinibus et distantiis . . . solis, lunae, et terrae. Lemmata Archimedis ... e ... codice MS. Arabico a Johanne Gravio traducta. A short treatise of fortifications, by J. T. [i.e. J. Twysden?]. Extract of a letter [on dialling] by Im. Halton. Aequations arising from a quantity divided into two unequal parts: and the second book of Euclides Elements, demonstrated by species by John Leeke).' Latin and English, 19 pts. fol. London, 1659.
- 'The Sector altered, and other scales added, with the description and use thereof,' an improvement of Gunter's sector, and printed in the fourth and fifth editions of his 'Works,' 1662 and 1673, by William Leybourn, who in the latter edition corrected some mistakes which had appeared in the former from Foster's own manuscript.
- 'The Description and Use of the Nocturnal; with the Addition of a Ruler, shewing the Measures of Inches and other Parts of most Countries, compared with our English ones,' [London? 1685?].
Foster left numerous manuscript treatises in addition to those printed by his friends. Of these two were in the possession of William Jones
William Jones
-Academics and authors:* William Jones , Welsh mathematician who proposed the use of the symbol π* Sir William Jones , English philologist who proposed a relationship among Indo-European languages...
, F.R.S.: 'The Uses of a General Quadrant,' and 'Select Uses of the Quadrant,' dated 1649.