Cornelis Drebbel

Lore & Background

Cornelis Drebbel was born in Alkmaar, Holland in an Anabaptist family in 1572. After attending the Latin school in Alkmaar, he studied at the Academy in Haarlem under Hendrik Goltzius, Karel van Mander, and Cornelis Corneliszoon. He became a skilled engraver and took an interest in alchemy. In 1595 he married Sophia Jansdochter Goltzius and settled in Alkmaar, working as a painter, engraver, and cartographer. He obtained a patent for a water-supply system and a perpetual clockwork in 1598, and in 1600 built a fountain in Middelburg, where he likely learned lens grinding. He first visited England in 1604 and later settled there around 1607 or 1608, working at Eltham Palace and astonishing the court with a perpetual motion machine, hydraulic organs, and optical instruments. In 1610 he moved to Prague at the invitation of Emperor Rudolf II, but after Rudolf's abdication in 1611, Drebbel was imprisoned in Prague; the duration and circumstances of his imprisonment are uncertain. He returned to London in 1613 after Rudolf's death, but his patron Prince Henry had died, leaving him in financial trouble. He manufactured optical instruments and compound microscopes. In 1619 he went to Prague again to tutor the sons of Emperor Ferdinand II, but was taken prisoner after the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, losing his fortune. Towards the end of his life in 1633, he was involved in a plan to drain the Fens around Cambridge while living in near-poverty running an ale house in England. He died in London.

Reader's Guide

Cornelis Drebbel's significance lies in his role as an empirical researcher and innovator whose work spanned multiple fields. He built the first navigable submarine in 1620, a steerable leather-covered wooden vessel demonstrated to King James I and thousands of Londoners, staying submerged for three hours. He developed a mercury thermostat for a chicken incubator, one of the first feedback-controlled devices, and is credited with inventing a working thermometer. In optics, he created an automatic precision lens-grinding machine, improved telescopes, and the first compound microscope, though its invention is disputed. He also developed a camera obscura, magic lantern, and Batavian tears. In chemistry, he wrote 'Een kort Tractaet van de Natuere der Elementen' (1621), discovered that mixtures of spiritus vini with mercury and silver in aqua fortis could explode, and was involved in mercury fulminate. His accidental discovery of stannous chloride's effect on carmine led to a successful scarlet dye business run by his daughters and sons-in-law. Despite his innovations, Drebbel often lived in financial difficulty and his submarine was never used in combat. His legacy includes influencing figures such as Constantijn Huygens and possibly Robert Hooke through the transmission of lens-grinding knowledge.

Did You Know?

• Drebbel built the first navigable submarine in 1620, which King James I rode beneath the Thames.
• He invented a mercury thermostat for a chicken incubator, one of the first feedback-controlled devices.
• Drebbel's accidental discovery of stannous chloride led to a popular scarlet dye called 'bow dye'.
• He is credited with developing the first compound microscope, though its invention is disputed.