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William Gascoigne (1610? – July 2, 1644) was an English maker of scientific instruments. He invented the micrometer.
Gascoigne was probably the first to use a micrometer, attached to a telescope, for astronomical observations. The instrument originally consisted either of two parallel wires or of two plates of metal placed in the focus of the eye-glass , and was capable of being moved so that the image of an object could be exactly comprehended between them. A scale served for the measurement of the angle subtended by the interval, and Gascoigne is said to have used this instrument for the purpose of measuring the diameters of the moon and planets, and also for determining the magnitudes or distances of terrestrial objects. Little is known of his life, but what we do know suggests that he is better described as an astronomer than as a maker of scientific instruments. A good account of appears in the Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
His father was Henry Gascoigne, esq., of Thorpe-on-the-Hill in the parish of Rothwell, near Leeds, Yorkshire. His mother was Margaret Jane, daughter of William Cartwright.
He died at the Battle of Marston Moor, Yorkshire, on the royalist side 2 July 1644.
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