Sir Jonas Moore

Sir Jonas Moore (1617-79) - practical mathematician teacher author surveyor cartographer Ordnance Officer courtier and patron of astronomy -had a remarkable career and was one of the first to make a substantial fortune from mathematical practice. Dr Willmoth follows his progress to a knighthood membership of the Royal Society and favour at the court of Charles II; she assesses his contribution to the draining of the Great Level (under Cornelius Vermuyden) and the building of the Mole at Tangier and records how as Surveyor-General of the Ordnance he became a patron of the new Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Her researches illustrate the changing views of mathematics at the time and reinforce the argument for the 17th-century `scientific revolution'. FRANCES WILLMOTH is currently working on an edition of John Flamsteed's correspondence. [East Anglian] Study of the life and varied career of Sir Jonas Moore (1617-79) - practical mathematician teacher author surveyor cartographer Ordnance Officer courtier and patron of astronomy - who was involved in the draining of the Great Level in the Fens.