Cornelius Drebbel Cornelius Drebbel was a Dutch engraver, glass maker, alchemist, mechanician, engineer and inventor who was resident in London in the early 1600s. Widely admired throughout Europe and attached to the English court, he contributed to advances in optics, thermodynamics and measurement. During the 1620s, he also helped develop control systems and created the first navigable submarine. He is known to have been part of a highly influential circle of Continental (often Dutch Protestant) inventors including Christiaan Huygens and Ahasuerus Fromanteel, whom Drebbel worked with and apparently championed. Drebbel was born in 1572 in Alkmaar, North Holland. He was apprenticed to engraver Hendrick Goltzius of Haarlem and went on to work as an engraver and glass maker in Middleburg, South Holland. By 1598, his interests had shifted to the sciences, including alchemy. That same year, he obtained a patent for a pump and a clock with ‘perpetual motion’. He became well known for his inventions and developments, such as but not limited to air thermometers, lenses, and perpetual-motion machines. His reputation soon led to commissions from the likes of King James VI and I, King Charles I and the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II. Drebbel settled in London around 1604. At the time, he was attached to the English court and associated with Prince Henry. While in London, he continued to work on his perpetual-motion machines as well as other inventions, and he also produced special effects for theatrical productions and worked on military projects. During the 1620s he developed his submarine. During his time in London, he became a colleague of Inigo Jones and appears to have developed a long-standing association with the renowned architect. He also became acquainted with a young Fromanteel, who worked as Drebbel’s assistant, making ‘cases for Drebbel’s glasses’ (turned wood cases for microscope and telescope lenses). The two also made glass hydrometers and dredging machines, and undertook woodturning, lens-grinding and clockmaking projects.[1] Garnier and Hollis argue that Drebbel was ‘the single greatest influence on Ahasuerus Fromanteel’s early career development’, and that it was he who ‘launched’ Fromanteel’s illustrious career.[2] They even posit that Drebbel provided Fromanteel with an introduction to Continental clockmaking workshops and makers, thus facilitating Fromanteel’s access to knowledge and training. While certainly possible, it is not known where Fromanteel received his training. Cornelius Drebbel died on 7 November 1633 in London. End Notes [1] Garnier 2018, 51, 57; Garnier and Hollis 2018 63, 72. [2] Garnier 2018, 33; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 63, 65. References Garnier, R. 2018. ‘Cornelius Drebbel (1572–1633): The man who launched Fromanteel?’ in Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London (Garnier, R. and L. Hollis eds). Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. pp. 33-53 Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. ‘Fromanteel’s progress: An Anglo-Netherlandish life pushing at the boundaries of mechanical endeavour’ in Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London (Garnier, R. and L. Hollis editors). Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. pp. 55-79 Further Reading Harris, L.E. 1961. The Two Netherlanders: Humphrey Bradley and Cornelis Drebbel. Leiden: Brill. Pohancenik, R. 2009. ‘The intelligencer and the instrument maker: early communications in the development of the pendulum clock’ in Antiquarian Horology 31:6. Image Credit Cornelis Drebbel by Unknown artist, line engraving, published 1628, NPG D11140 © National Portrait Gallery, London, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw57508/Cornelis-Drebbel?LinkID=mp59429&role=sit&rNo=0
