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Also called JAN LIPPERSHEIM,
OR HANS LIPPERSHEIM (b. c. 1570, Wesel, Ger.--d. c. 1619, Middelburg,
Neth.), spectacle maker from the United Netherlands, traditionally credited
with inventing the telescope (1608).
On Oct. 2, 1608, he formally offered his invention, which he called a
kijker ("looker"), to the Estates of Holland for use in warfare.
The Estates granted him 900 florins for the instrument but required its
modification into a binocular device. His telescopes were made available
to Henry IV of France and others before the end of 1608. The potential
importance of the instrument in astronomy was recognized by, among others,
Jacques Bovedere of Paris; he reported the invention to
Galileo, who promptly
built his own telescope.
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