page_title: Thomas Harriot
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas Harriot
caption_attribution_description: English: Thomas Harriot (1560-1621) and his friend Christopher Tooke set about drawing the moon from a rooftop in Syon Park, Middlesex, England, on 26th July 1609, in order to map the moon. For four centuries it was thought Galileo was the first to do this but documents found in the Public Records Office at Chichester, W. Sussex, England, show it was actually Thomas Harriot. There is no authenticated contemporary portrait of Thomas Harriot to date (2009) and it may well be none were ever painted of him. He did have a house in Syon Park (now pulled down), adjacent to Syon House. He is thought to have used his telescope from the rooftop of his house to make the maps. The picture made its debut at Telescope400 – Thomas Harriot Day, at Syon Park, Mddx on 26th July 2009. This was the 400th anniversary of Harriot's first drawing of the moon using a telescope.
context_page_description: Thomas Harriot, also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator who made advances within the scientific field. Thomas Harriot was recognized for his contributions in astronomy, mathematics, and navigational techniques. Harriot worked closely with John White to create advanced maps for navigation. While Harriot worked extensively on numerous papers on the subjects of astronomy, mathematics, and navigation the amount of work that was actually published was sparse. So sparse that the only publication that has been produced by Harriot was The Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia. The premise of the book includes descriptions of English settlements and financial issues in Virginia at the time. He is sometimes credited with the introduction of the potato to the British Isles. Harriot was the first person to make a drawing of the Moon through a telescope, on 26 July 1609, over four months before Galileo Galilei.
  After graduating from St Mary Hall, Oxford, Harriot travelled to the Americas, accompanying the 1585 expedition to Roanoke island funded by Sir Walter Raleigh and led by Sir Ralph Lane.
context_section_description: Thomas Harriot (/ˈhæriət/; c. 1560 – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator who made advances within the scientific field. Thomas Harriot was recognized for his contributions in astronomy, mathematics, and navigational techniques. Harriot worked closely with John White to create advanced maps for navigation. While Harriot worked extensively on numerous papers on the subjects of astronomy, mathematics, and navigation the amount of work that was actually published was sparse. So sparse that the only publication that has been produced by Harriot was The Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia. The premise of the book includes descriptions of English settlements and financial issues in Virginia at the time. He is sometimes credited with the introduction of the potato to the British Isles. Harriot was the first person to make a drawing of the Moon through a telescope, on 26 July 1609, over four months before Galileo Galilei.
  After graduating from St Mary Hall, Oxford, Harriot travelled to the Americas, accompanying the 1585 expedition to Roanoke island funded by Sir Walter Raleigh and led by Sir Ralph Lane. Harriot was a vital member of the venture, having learned and translating the Carolina Algonquian language from two Native Americans: Wanchese and Manteo. On his return to England, he worked for the 9th Earl of Northumberland. At the Earl's house, he became a prolific mathematician and astronomer to whom the theory of refraction is attributed.
caption: Thomas Harriot observing the Moon through his telescope at Syon Park
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