‘The whole earth, a present for a Prince’: Molyneux’s English globes and the creation of a global vision in Harriot’s time

Thursday 31 May 2012 at 5pm in The Champneys Room, Oriel College

by Dr Lesley B Cormack, Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Alberta

After the lecture, it will also be possible to visit an exhibition of books related to 16th-century navigation and map-making in the college’s Senior Library.

See also the accompanying online exhibition with maps and other illustrations

Portrait believed to be of Thomas Harriot from Trinity College, Oxford. A copy hangs in Oriel College Hall.

Who was Thomas Harriot?

(taken from the Oriel College, Oxford website)

“Thomas Harriot, mathematician and natural philosopher, was born in Oxfordshire; matriculated at Oxford in 1577 as a member of St Mary Hall (which united with Oriel College in 1902), and was awarded a BA degree at Easter 1580.

Harriot developed the skills of astronomical navigation, and was employed by Sir Walter Ralegh (another member of Oriel) to teach Ralegh and his sea captains about navigation and prepare him for his journey to establish a settlement in America, although in the end, Ralegh himself was not part of that expedition.” more

Related exhibitions

The Renaissance in Astronomy: books, globes and instruments of the 16th century, Museum of the History of Science, Oxford