Dedication page of Turner's A View of the Earth.

 

 

 

 

 

Advertisement for a Terrestrial Globe

    Richard Turner's Compendium of Astronomy, Geography, and Trigonometry, published in England in 1765, demonstrates the expanding role of knowledge in society caused by the advent of the printing press and the innovations of the Renaissance.  No longer are math and science something studied only by the elite and professional scholars in carefully hand-copied manuscripts, but they are now something more accessible to the world at large and worthy of study for their own sake.  In his compendium, Turner states much of his purpose in the dedication pages of his three books, which are addressed to not just his powerful political patrons but to gentlemen, youth, and even ladies.  Turner writes his compendium not only to teach the sciences to those that need to know them for their occupations but to teach those that are simply interested.  Turner says on the dedication page of A View of the Earth that geography is "no longer esteem'd as a fine Accomplishment only, but a necessary Part of useful Education" [1].  He also explains that knowledge of the world will make a happier and better citizen [2]. 

     The astounding facts Turner lists in A View of the Heavens were determined by famous astronomers from the Renaissance.  The maps he features in A View of the Earth are the direct result of the age of exploration and show how far man had advanced in his understanding of the world.  These two books were clearly meant to showcase these new discoveries to the people of England.  By ignoring the more complex trigonometric functions that were present in his time, using four simple formulas instead, Turner gives away that Plain Trigonometry was intended not for mathematicians but for a larger audience to gain a basic understanding of triangles.  Turner's compendium also features an advertisement for a model globe of the earth so that youth can "learn the use of the globes" [3].  Turner's book could perhaps be described as an early modern textbook of science and math, advertised with accompanying hands-on course material.