Bürgi, Jost (1552-1632)

Swiss-born clockmaker and mathematician. One of the first clockmakers to use second hands, Bürgi also introduced a mechanism for providing the escapement with a constant driving force. In mathematics, he developed a comprehensive system of logarithms (about 30 years before Napier), but his work has been largely ignored.

In 1579 he became court clockmaker to William IV of Hesse-Kassel, and in 1603 moved to a similar post at the Prague court of Emperor Rudolf II.

His work in mathematics remained unknown until 1620 when he published his Arithmetische und Geometrische Progress-Tabulen. By this time the glory had gone to Napier, and Bürgi's own role remained unrecognized until relatively recent times.