William Bourne (mathematician)

William Bourne (c. 1535–1582) was an English mathematician, innkeeper and former Royal Navy gunner who invented the first navigable submarine and wrote important navigational manuals. He is often called William Bourne of Gravesend.

In 1574, he produced a popular version of the Martín Cortés de Albacar's Arte de Navegar, entitled A Regiment for the Sea. Bourne was critical of some aspects of the original and produced a manual of more practical use to the seaman. He described how to make observations of the sun and stars, using a cross-staff, and how to plot coastal features from the ship by taking bearings using triangulation.^[1]

Submarine design

Submarine by William Bourne, in Inventions or devices, 1578.

His design, detailed in his book Inventions and Devises published in 1578, was one of the first recorded plan for an underwater navigation vehicle. He designed an enclosed craft capable of submerging by decreasing the overall volume (rather than flooding chambers as in modern submarines), and being rowed underwater. Bourne described a ship with a wooden frame covered in waterproofed leather, but the description was a general principle rather than a detailed plan. However, Bourne's concept of an underwater rowing boat was put into action by the Dutchman Cornelius Drebbel in 1620, and Nathaniel Symons demonstrated a 'sinking boat' in 1729 using the expanding and contracting volume of the boat to submerge.

The submarine was the subject of a modern-day recreation on season 3 of "The Re-Inventors" TV show, episode "Bourne Submarine". The recreation had limited functionality before it sank when water pressure ruptured some membranes on a test descent.^[2]

Partial list of publications

• An Almanac and Prognostication for Three Years, 1571
• William Bourns booke of artillery, 1572 (draft manuscript)
• Treasure for Travellers, 1572/3
• Art of Shooting in Great Ordnance, 1572/3
• A Regiment for the Sea, 1574 (11 English editions from 1574 to 1631, at least 3 Dutch editions starting in 1594)
• A Booke called the Treasure for Traueilers, 1578 (republished in 1641 as A Mate for Mariners)
• Inventions or Devices. Very Necessary for all Generalles and Captaines, as wel by Sea as by Land, 1578
• The Arte of Shooting in Great Ordinance, 1578, 1587, 1643
• "On Optical Glasses," transcribed manuscript published in Halliwell's Rara Mathematica.

References

1. ^ G. L'E. Turner, ‘Bourne, William (c.1535–1582)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. The first edition of this text is available as an article on Wikisource:  "Bourne, William". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. 
2. ^ History Television (Canada), episode "Bourne Submarine", show "The Re-Inventors", season 3

External links

• Bourne's bibliography, Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford webpages

Persondata
Name	Bourne, William
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death	1582
Place of death

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This history of science article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: 16th-century mathematicians 1530s births 1582 deaths English mathematicians 16th-century English people People of the Tudor period People from Gravesend, Kent British mathematician stubs History of science stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР AC Ajaccio Valsörarna Look at other dictionaries: William Bourne — may refer to: *William Bourne (mathematician) *William Bourne (19th century businessman) *Bill Bourne (cricketer) *Bill Bourne, Canadian musician and songwriter …   Wikipedia List of King's College London alumni — This List of King s College London alumni includes graduates, non graduate former students, and current students of King s College London. The list also includes those whom are alumni by extension, having studied at institutions that have… …   Wikipedia Ireland — This article is about the island. For the sovereign state of the same name, see Republic of Ireland. For the constituent country of the United Kingdom, see Northern Ireland. For other uses, see Ireland (disambiguation). Coordinates …   Wikipedia Submarine — For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). A Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Oyashio class submarine in 2006 A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which… …   Wikipedia submarine — n. /sub meuh reen , sub meuh reen /; adj., v. /sub meuh reen /, n., adj., v., submarined, submarining. n. 1. a vessel that can be submerged and navigated under water, usually built for warfare and armed with torpedoes or guided missiles. 2.… …   Universalium Triangulation — In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly. The point can… …   Wikipedia History of the telescope — The earliest known working telescopes appeared in 1608 and are credited to Hans Lippershey and Zacharias Janssen, spectacle makers in Middelburg, and Jacob Metius of Alkmaar. The design of these early refracting telescopes consisted of a convex… …   Wikipedia Cornelis Drebbel — Born 1572 Alkmaar Died November 7, 1633 London …   Wikipedia Cornelius Drebbel — Infobox Person name = Cornelius Drebbel image size = 200px caption = Cornelius Drebbel birth date = 1572 birth place = Alkmaar death date = 7 November 1633 death place = London education = Hendrick Goltzius occupation = inventor spouse = Sophia… …   Wikipedia List of Old Gowers — This is a List of Notable Old Gowers former pupils of University College School. See also .A*Thomas Adès, composer (OG ? 1988)*The Very Rev. Dr. Hermann Adler (OG 1852 54), Chief Rabbi of UK *The Rev. Canon Ainger, Alfred Ainger (OG 1847 49),… …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”