Dutch spectacle maker traditionally credited, alongside Hans Lippershey, with building an early compound microscope around 1590. The claim rests entirely on testimony given in 1655 by his son Johannes, more than two decades after Zacharias died and inconsistent across retellings; historians Van Helden, Dupre, Van Gent and Zuidervaart concluded the son invented the story for fame and financial gain. Even Zacharias's own birth year is uncertain, given variously as 1580 to 1588.
The attribution itself is the subject of the dispute, not merely the date.
Facts
FieldOptics and instrument making 1 Connections
Invented
Why this is disputed. Credit for the first compound microscope around 1590 is debated among several Dutch spectacle makers of the same era.
Source Microscope (Britannica)
Works In
Source Zacharias Janssen (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Zacharias Janssen (Wikipedia)tier 2
Sources
1. Zacharias Janssen (Wikipedia)
WikipediaLead section
Zacharias Janssen; also Zacharias Jansen or Sacharias Jansen; 1585, pre-1632) was a Dutch spectacle-maker who lived most of his life in Middelburg.
Lead section, pronoun use
He is associated with the invention of the first optical telescope and/or the first truly compound microscope, but these claims (made 20 years after his death) may be fabrications put forward by his son.
- Works In: Physics
View the Source 2. Zacharias Janssen (Wikidata)
P27 (country of citizenship): Dutch Republic
Q170072
P20 (place of death): Amsterdam, Netherlands
Q727
P19 (place of birth): The Hague, Netherlands
Q36600
View the SourceMicroscope (Britannica)
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