Walter Warner facts for kids

Walter Warner (born 1563, died 1643) was an English mathematician and scientist. He lived a long time ago, during a period when many new ideas about science were starting to appear. Even though he didn't publish many books, he was well-known among other smart people of his time.

Walter Warner's Life Story

Walter Warner was born in a place called Leicestershire in England. He went to Merton College, Oxford for his education and finished his first degree in 1578.

Working with Famous Thinkers

In the late 1500s, Walter Warner was part of a special group of thinkers around Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland. This Earl was sometimes called the 'Wizard Earl' because he was interested in science and new discoveries. Warner, along with Thomas Harriot and Robert Hues, were known as the Earl's 'three magi' or wise men. They worked together on different experiments.

Warner was also connected to another famous person, Sir Walter Ralegh. At this time, Warner was mostly interested in chemistry and medicine. Some historians believe that these groups of researchers, supported by the Earl and Ralegh, helped move science from older, more magical ideas to what we now call real science.

Later Years and Collaborations

After the 'Wizard Earl' passed away, Walter Warner was supported by the Earl's son, Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, and then by Sir Thomas Aylesbury, 1st Baronet. Warner helped to prepare and publish a book by his friend Thomas Harriot called Artis Analyticae Praxis in 1631.

He also met the famous thinker Thomas Hobbes through Sir Charles Cavendish. Warner and Hobbes even discussed how light bends, a topic called refraction, in 1634.

Warner was friends with Robert Payne, who worked for Cavendish. This connection often links Warner to a group of scholars known as the Welbeck Academy.

Important Discoveries and Claims

In the 1630s, Walter Warner worked with another mathematician named John Pell. Together, they created the first table of antilogarithms. Antilogarithms are like the opposite of logarithms, which are used to make big calculations easier.

A person named John Aubrey wrote that Warner claimed he had figured out how blood circulates in the body before William Harvey did. Harvey is usually given credit for this major discovery. Warner believed Harvey might have heard about his ideas from someone else. Pell also mentioned that Warner was born without a left hand.

Walter Warner's Scientific Work and Legacy

Walter Warner did not publish many of his works during his lifetime. However, he was still well-known among scientists. For example, Marin Mersenne, a famous French scholar, published some of Warner's work on optics (the study of light) in a book in 1646.

Warner believed in atomism, which is the idea that everything is made of tiny, invisible particles called atoms. He also thought the universe was infinite and went on forever. He was skilled in both the theory and practice of chemistry. He also wrote about psychology, based on the ideas of other thinkers like Giordano Bruno.

Many of Warner's handwritten notes and papers still exist today. They show that he was interested in many different subjects, including the circulation of blood. After he died, many of his papers were taken by people who misunderstood his scientific work.