Thomas Harriot
English astronomer, mathematician, and ethnographer of the Roanoke expedition.
Thomas Harriot (c. 1560 – 2 July 1621), whose name also appears as Harriott, Hariot, or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer, and translator. He is credited with the theory of refraction and contributed to navigational techniques, collaborating with John White on advanced maps. Though he produced extensive work in astronomy, mathematics, and navigation, he remains little known because he published very little—his only major publication was *The Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia* (1588). He is sometimes said to have introduced the potato to the British Isles. Harriot invented binary notation and arithmetic decades before Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, but this was not discovered until the 1920s. He also made the first telescopic drawing of the Moon, on 5 August 1609, about four months before Galileo.
Born in Oxford, England, in 1560, Harriot attended St Mary Hall, Oxford, where his name appears in the registry from 1577. After earning a bachelor’s degree, he studied navigation, focusing on crossing the Atlantic to the New World. He used instruments like the astrolabe and sextant and later taught his techniques to captains in Raleigh. His findings were recorded in a work called *Articon*, which was later lost.
After graduating in 1580, Harriot was hired by Sir Walter Raleigh as a mathematics tutor, using his astronomical knowledge for navigation, ship design, and accounting. Before the expedition, he wrote a treatise on navigation and devised a phonetic alphabet to transcribe the Carolina Algonquian language, learning it from two Native Americans, Manteo and Wanchese, who had been brought to England. Harriot spent much time with Manteo, learning about life in the New World. He believed Indigenous peoples were intelligent but had inferior technology, and he noted their awe at European inventions like mathematical instruments, sea compasses, and spring clocks.
Harriot made only one expedition, around 1585–86, to Roanoke Island off North Carolina. As the only Englishman who had learned Carolina Algonquian before the voyage, he was vital to its success. His account, *A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia*, published in 1588, included early descriptions of the Native American population and proved influential on later English explorers. He wrote that with good government, they might be brought to
- born
- c. 1560, Oxford, England
- died
- 2 July 1621, Threadneedle Street, London
- field
- Astronomy, mathematics, ethnography, translation
- nationality
- English
- known_for
- Theory of refraction, first telescopic drawing of the Moon, invention of binary notation, navigational maps, account of Roanoke colony
Lore & Background
Harriot graduated from St Mary Hall, Oxford, and was hired by Sir Walter Raleigh as a mathematics tutor. He traveled to the Americas with the 1585 expedition to Roanoke Island, where he learned the Carolina Algonquian language from two Native Americans, Wanchese and Manteo, and devised a phonetic alphabet to transcribe it. His account of the voyage, *A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia* (1588), contains an early description of the Native American population and was influential on later English colonists. He also worked for the 9th Earl of Northumberland, residing at Syon House, and continued his studies in optics and astronomy.
In 1609, Harriot bought a 'Dutch trunke' (telescope) and on 5 August 1609 drew a map of the Moon, preceding Galileo by several months. He later observed sunspots in December 1610 and created two maps of the whole Moon with identifiable features. He also corresponded with Johannes Kepler on optics, influencing Kepler's conjecture. Harriot was interrogated and briefly imprisoned in 1605 after his patron Henry Percy was implicated in the Gunpowder Plot, but was soon released.
From 1614, Harriot consulted a doctor for an apparent cancer of the left nostril, which progressed until his death on 2 July 1621, three days after writing his will. He was buried in the church of St Christopher le Stocks in Threadneedle Street, later damaged in the Great Fire of London and demolished in 1781. His executors posthumously published *Artis Analyticae Praxis* on algebra in 1631, though it did not represent the full significance of his unpublished writings.
Reader's Guide
Thomas Harriot's significance lies in his pioneering but largely unpublished contributions across multiple fields. He is credited with the theory of refraction and invented binary notation and arithmetic before Leibniz, though this was unknown until the 1920s. His telescopic drawing of the Moon on 5 August 1609 is the first recorded such observation, predating Galileo's by nearly four months. Harriot's work on the close-packing of spheres, arising from a request to stack cannonballs efficiently, showed a resemblance to atomism and modern atomic theory. His ethnographic work during the Roanoke expedition produced one of the earliest English accounts of Native Americans, including his phonetic transcription of the Carolina Algonquian language. Despite his obscurity due to limited publication, his legacy endures through his influence on navigation, astronomy, and mathematics, as well as his role in early English colonization efforts. His unpublished manuscripts, over 400 sheets, remain a testament to his wide-ranging intellect.
Did You Know?
- Harriot invented binary notation and arithmetic several decades before Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, but this remained unknown until the 1920s.
- He made the first telescopic drawing of the Moon on 5 August 1609, about four months before Galileo Galilei.
- Harriot learned the Carolina Algonquian language from two Native Americans, Wanchese and Manteo, and devised a phonetic alphabet to transcribe it.
- He was interrogated and briefly imprisoned in 1605 in connection with the Gunpowder Plot due to his association with the Earl of Northumberland.
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