Beeckman, I
Name: Isaac Beeckman
Achievements: Encouraged Descartes
Born: December 10, 1588; Middelburg, Zeeland, Netherlands
Died: May 19, 1637; Dordrecht, Netherlands. Aged 48
Field & Discipline: Science; Physics; Physicist
Language: Dutch
Father: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
Siblings: Jacob; Abraham
Spouse: Unknown
Children: Unknown
Education: University of Leiden (1607-10)
Major Work:
Journal (1604-1634)
Life & Times:
Beeckman’s family planned for him to become a minister in the Reformed Church so, in 1607, at the age of eighteen, he enrolled at the University of Leiden, where he studied theology and met the mathematician [met] Snell* and his father Rudolph.
In 1610, he traveled to Amsterdam and studied mathematics, nautical science and Hebrew privately, then went on to the seminary at Saumur in 1612, to continue with his theological studies.
As early as 1613, Beeckman had worked out a principal of inertia for both circular and rectilinear movement, which stated that where there is no impediment there is no reason why velocity and curvature of movement should change. He concluded that, in collision, the total quantity of movement remains the same, an worked out different laws for elastic and non-elastic bodies.
He finished his theological studies around 1614 and began as an apprentice to his father, making candles and water conduits. Later, he took a job in Zierikezee, on the island of Schouwen, Zeeland, so that he could have access to the equipment he needed for experiments in combustion, pumping, and hydrodynamics.
Using this equipment, in1615, he proved the law of the velocity of the outflow of water, usually attributed to [co-discoverer with] Torricelli*, by showing that the quantity of water passing through a hole in the bottom of a vessel varies as the square root of the height of the water column.
In 1618, Beeckman received his M.D. from Caen, although he had never practiced as a physician. In the same year, he worked out the law of uniformly accelerated movement of bodies falling in a vacuum by combining his law of inertia with the hypothesis that the earth attracts falling bodies in tiny discontinuous impulses.
He then took a job as assistant headmaster of the Latin school, where his brother was headmaster, in Veere, on the island of Walcheren. Later that year, he met the young [encouraged] Descartes,* at Breda. Descartes was in the Netherlands as a student in mathematics and military architecture and Beeckman gave the young philosopher encouragement. In return, Descartes dedicated his 'Musicae Compendium' to Beeckman.
William Harvey’s discovery of the circulation of the blood excited Beeckman in the same way as [influenced by] Stevin* and Willebrord Snell had generated his interest in astronomy, mechanics and engineering.
Around 1620, he moved to the Latin school in Rotterdam, where his brother had become rector, and started society known as the Collegium Mechanicum, where scholars met to discuss scientific problems. In 1626, he determined the relationship between pressure and volume in a measured quantity of air.
In 1627 Beeckman became headmaster of the Latin school at Dordrecht, where he was an early advocate of the application of a mathematical method in physics. The following year, he established the first meteorological station, measuring wind velocity and direction, rainfall, and temperature.
Among his pupils were Frederick Stevin, the son of Simon Stevin, Jan de Witt, who became Grand Pensionary of Holland and George Ent, who was one of the first members of the Royal Society in England. Beeckman became well known to scientists and philosophers across Europe through his work in Dordrecht. In 1628 and 1629, Descartes again visited him, followed by the French philosopher and scientist [visited by] Gassendi* and the French mathematician [visited by] Mersenne* in 1630.
In his time, he was considered to be one of the most educated men in Europe. For example, he had deeply impressed Mersenne, despite their opposing religious views,[3] as well as Pierre Gassendi, who apparently had been turned by Beeckman to the philosophy of Epicurus (atomism).[3] Gassendi even proclaimed, in a 1629 letter to Peiresc, that Beeckman was the greatest philosopher he had ever met.[12]
Extra Connections: He was influenced by [influenced by] Vitruvius*
Assessment: Beeckman may be considered an important influence in the history of the evolution of scientific ideas.
Oneliner: Isaac Beeckman, who encouraged Descartes.
Bibliography:
- Hooykaas, R., "Science and Religion in the 17th Century; Isaac Beeckman (1588-1637)", Free University Quarterly, 1 (1951), 169-183.