Zacharias Janssen

Zacharias Janssen
Zacharias Janssen
Born	1585 (1580) The Hague
Died	Given as before 1632 (sometimes 1638) Amsterdam
Nationality	Dutch
Other names	Zacharias Janssen, Sacharias Jansen
Occupation	Spectacle-maker (sometimes counterfeiter)
Known for	Possible inventor of the microscope and the telescope (posthumous claim)
Parents	Hans Mertens (father) Mayken Provoost Bacher (mother)

Zacharias Janssen; also Zacharias Jansen or Sacharias Jansen; 1585 – pre-1632^[1]) was a Dutch spectacle-maker who lived most of his life in Middelburg. He is associated with the invention of the first optical telescope and/or the first truly compound microscope, but these claims (made 20 years after his death) may be fabrications put forward by his son.