Ludolph van Ceulen
| Ludolph van Ceulen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
28 January 1540 Hildesheim, Bishopric of Hildesheim, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 31 December 1610 (aged 70) Leiden, Dutch Republic |
| Fields | Mathematics |
| Institutions | Leiden University |
| Notable students |
Willebrord Snellius Frans van Schooten, Sr. |
| Known for | Ludolphine number |
Ludolph van Ceulen (German: [fan ˈkɔʏlən], Dutch: [vɑŋˈkøːlə(n)]; 28 January 1540 – 31 December 1610) was a German-Dutch mathematician from Hildesheim. He emigrated to the Netherlands.
Van Ceulen moved to Delft to teach fencing and mathematics and in 1594 opened a fencing school in Leiden. In 1600 he was appointed the first professor of mathematics at the Engineering School, Duytsche Mathematique, established by Prince Maurice of Orange at the relatively new Leiden University. He shared this professorial level at the school with the surveyor and cartographer, Simon Fransz van Merwen, which shows that the intention was to promote practical, rather than theoretical instruction.
The curriculum for the new Engineering School was devised by Simon Stevin who continued to act as the personal advisor to the Prince. At first the professors at Leiden refused to accept the status of Van Ceulen and Van Merwen, especially as they taught in Dutch rather than Latin. Theological professors generally believed that practical courses were not acceptable studies for a university, but they were not willing to reject the School outright since it was founded by Prince Maurice.
Leiden University governors heard in April 1600 that Adriaan Metius, a fortification advisor to Prince Maurice and the States General, had been recruited and raised to the level of a full professor to teach mathematics at the rival Franeker University The Leiden governors' main problem was to match Franeker University, without raising the status too much of Duytsche Mathematique. So they quickly recruited mathematician Rudolf Snellius to the university—as distinct from the Engineering School—but then relegated him to the Arts faculty.
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