Willebrord Snellius Scientist

Willebrord Snellius (born Willebrord Snel van Royen) (1580 – 30 October 1626, Leiden) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, known in the English-speaking world as Snell. In the west, especially the English speaking countries, his name has been attached to the law of refraction of light for several centuries, but it is now known that this law was first discovered by Ibn Sahl in 984. The same law was also investigated by Ptolemy and in the Middle Ages by Witelo, but due to lack of adequate mathematical instruments (trigonometric functions) their results were saved as tables, not functions.The lunar crater Snellius is named after Willebrord Snellius.

Personal facts

Birth date	January 01, 1580
Birth place	Netherlands , Dutch Republic , Leiden
Nationality	Dutch people
Date of death	October 30, 1626
Place of death	Netherlands , Dutch Republic , Leiden
Education	Leiden University
Known for	Snell's law