Who invented the Telescope?
Because it wasn't Galileo!

So who invented the telescope? Galileo may have popularized the device by realizing the usefulness of telescopes for astronomy, but he was not the original inventor. Credit for the telescope belongs to none other than Hans Lipperhey.

The Inventor

Hans Lipperhey was born in Germany and moved to the Netherlands as an adult, where he was married and started his profession as a spectacle maker.

So was Hans a spectacle-making genius who saw the potential in combining lenses to form a very useful, long range vision-booster? The answer is no, the discovery was actually made by accident!

Curiosity then Creation

Now we know who invented the telescope, but how did it happen? Well, legend has it that Hans did not just come up with the idea himself. Children would frequently visit his shop for fun. They were curious about the many lenses and spectacles Hans had lying around, and they were the ones that noticed the effects of combining lenses.

Proof in the Patent

Several people in the past had tried to claim the invention for themselves. Many of them may have invented the device on their own in various parts of the world, but Hans was the first to patent the idea, so he is known as the true inventor to this day. Let's not forget where his help came from, though... true Astronomy-Kids!