Galelio Galilei

Hans Lipperhey (also spelled Lippershey) was a German-Dutch spectacle-maker widely believed to be the inventer of telescope. Lipperhey was born in Wesel, Germany and settled in Middelburg, Netherlands. He was a spectacle maker, by profession and established a shop in Middelburg. He discovered that a distant object appeared to be much closer when viewed though a concave lens and a convex lens held in front of each other. He mounted the lenses in a tube to make the first crude refracting telescope that magnified objects three times. Lippershey applied to the States General of the Netherlands for a 30-year patent for his instrument, which he called a kijker (“looker”), or else an annual pension, in exchange for which he offered not to sell telescopes to foreign kings. On 2 October, 1608, the States General discussed Lipperhey's application for a patent on the instrument. Shortly after that, the States General were also petitioned by Jacob Metius, who also claimed to be the inventor. The patent was eventually denied because so many people knew about it and the device was so easy to copy. The States General granted Lippershey 900 florins for building few instruments as per its specifications. These instruments were made available to Henry IV of France and other before the end of 1608. Though Lipperhey called his instrument 'looker', it was known as the "Dutch perspective glass" until Giovanni Demisiani gave it the name "telescope" in 1611. The lunar crater Lippershey and the exoplanet Lipperhey (55 Cancri d) are named after Hans Lipperhey.