author
Joseph Moxon
1627–1691
A lively figure in seventeenth-century printing and science, this English craftsman wrote some of the earliest practical guides to printing, mapmaking, and mathematical work in plain English. His books helped turn specialist know-how into something working readers could actually use.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in 1627, Joseph Moxon became one of England’s most versatile early technical writers and printers. He worked as a printer of mathematical books and maps, made globes and instruments, and served as hydrographer to Charles II. He is often remembered for bringing practical and scientific knowledge to a wider audience through clear, hands-on books.
Moxon’s best-known work is Mechanick Exercises, a remarkable manual that explained crafts such as printing and related trades in everyday language. He also produced an early English dictionary devoted to mathematics, along with works on astronomy, geography, navigation, and mapmaking. That mix of workshop skill and scientific curiosity makes him an especially interesting bridge between the worlds of craft, publishing, and learning.
He died in February 1691. Although he is not as widely known today as some of his contemporaries, Moxon remains an important figure in the history of printing and technical writing, especially for readers interested in how practical knowledge was first recorded and shared in English.