Nicholas Mercator
Nicholas (Nikolaus) Mercator (c. 1620, Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck – 1687, Versailles), also known by his German name Kauffmann, was a 17th-century mathematician.
Born~Died 1620 ~ 1687Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 3:36 PM
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Nicholas (Nikolaus) Mercator (c. 1620, Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck – 1687, Versailles), also known by his German name Kauffmann, was a 17th-century mathematician.
He was born in Eutin, Prince-Bishopric of Lübeck, Holy Roman Empire and educated at Rostock and Leyden after which he lived from 1642 to 1648 in the Dutch Republic. He lectured at the University of Copenhagen during 1648–1654 and lived in Paris from 1655 to 1657. He was mathematics tutor to Joscelyne Percy, son of the 10th Earl of Northumberland, at Petworth, Sussex (1657). He taught mathematics in London (1658–1682). On 3 May 1661 he observed a transit of Mercury with Christiaan Huygens and Thomas Streete from Long Acre, London.1 On 14 November 1666 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.2 He designed a marine chronometer for Charles II.3
In 1682 Jean Colbert invited Mercator to assist in the design and construction of the fountains at the Palace of Versailles, so he relocated there, but a falling-out with Colbert followed.
This page is based on “Nicholas Mercator” from English Wikipedia, (r1344850015) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 3:36 PM · r114613 · Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.