Stampionen

Jan Jansz de Jonge Stampionen

Born: 1610 in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Died: 1690 in The Hague, Netherlands

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Stampionen appended his own treatment of spherical trigonometry to van Schooten's sine tables. In 1633 he challenged Descartes to a public competition and rejected Descartes' solution as not complete. He posed two further challenges under the alias of John Baptista involving the solution of cubics and gave solutions under his own name.

A young surveyor Waessenaer solved the first, but Stampionen rejected his solution. The argument was adjudicated by van Schooten who favoured Waessenaer. Descartes and Huygens became involved in the argument but Huygens subsequently employed Stampionen to tutor his sons in mathematics.

Other Web sites:

Rice University, USA

References:

  1. Dictionary of Scientific Biography
  2. C de Waard, Jan Jansz Stampionen, Nieuw Nederlandsch biographisch woordenboek II (1912), 1155-1163. 
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JOC/EFR February 1996