BornLisbon, Portugal, circa 1555
DiedMadrid, Spain, 31 March 1624
João Baptista Lavanha was a Portuguese mathematician, cosmographer, engineer, cartographer, author of treatises on shipbuilding, historian, and professor. We do not know much about his youth. We do know that he was born around 1555, in Lisbon, to a family of noble Jewish descent. Around 1572, Lavanha entered into the service of King Sebastião (1554–1578) and was sent to Rome to study mathematics (1572–1578). It was around this time that he wrote a treatise on astronomy entitled “Taboas do lugar do Sol.”
In 1578, King Sebastião perished in the battle of Alcazarquivir (North Africa). The defeat of Portugal led to a succession crisis in the Portuguese kingdom and ultimately to the integration of the country in the Iberian Union for 60 years (1580–1640) under the Filipes Dynasty (a dynastic union with Spain). The new King Filipe II (1527–1598) of Spain was uncle on the maternal side of King D. Sebastião.
In 1582, João...
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Selected References
Artur, António Paulo Ubieto (1991). “Aportações à Biografia de João Baptista Lavanha.” Separata da Revista da Universidade de Coimbra 36: 395–408.
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Domingues, Francisco Contente (1994). “Lavanha, João Baptista.” Dicionário de História dos Descobrimentos, Albuquerque, Luis de (dir), Coord. Francisco Contente Domingues, 2 vols., Lisboa, Circulo de Leitores/Caminho, pp.586–588.
Esteves, Carina Raquel Antunes (2011). “O Livro Primeiro de Architectura Naval de João Baptista Lavanha e a arquitectura naval ibérica no final do século XVI, princípios do XVII, O perfil do arquitecto naval.” M.A. diss. University of Lisbon (Portugal).
Viterbo, Francisco Marques de Sousa (1898–1900). “Lavanha”. Trabalhos Náuticos dos Portugueses nos séculos XVI e XVII, Academia Real das Sciencias: p.I, 171–183; p.II, 20–208.
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Figueiredo, F.B. (2014). Lavanha, João Baptista. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_9321
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