Jérôme Lalande
The name "vernier" is now applied to the small movable scale attached to a caliper, sextant, barometer, or other graduated instrument and was given by Jérôme Lalande. Lalande showed that the previous name, "nonius" after Pedro Nunes, belonged more properly to a different contrivance. The name "nonius" continued to be applied to the vernier until the beginning of the 19th century.