Cornelis Corneliszoon (c. 1550 - c. 1600) was the inventor of the
sawmillA sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of 100 years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
.
Corneliszoon was born in
UitgeestUitgeest is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-Population centres :The municipality of Uitgeest consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Assum, Busch en Dam, Groot Dorregeest, Uitgeest.- Local government :The municipal council...
, The Netherlands. His wind-powered sawmill used a
crankshaftThe crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
to convert a
windmillA windmill is a machine which translates linear motion of wind to rotational motion by means of adjustable vanes called sails. The main use is for a grinding mill powered by the wind, reducing a solid or coarse substance into pulp or minute grains by crushing, grinding, or pressing...
's circular motion into a back-and-forward motion powering the saw. This allowed wood to be cut at high precision and at a much faster rate (30 times faster) than could be achieved manually.
In 1594 Corneliszoon built the first sawmill, a small mill which floated on a raft.
Cornelis Corneliszoon (c. 1550 - c. 1600) was the inventor of the
sawmillA sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of 100 years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
.
Corneliszoon was born in
UitgeestUitgeest is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-Population centres :The municipality of Uitgeest consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Assum, Busch en Dam, Groot Dorregeest, Uitgeest.- Local government :The municipal council...
, The Netherlands. His wind-powered sawmill used a
crankshaftThe crankshaft, sometimes casually abbreviated to crank, is the part of an engine which translates reciprocating linear piston motion into rotation...
to convert a
windmillA windmill is a machine which translates linear motion of wind to rotational motion by means of adjustable vanes called sails. The main use is for a grinding mill powered by the wind, reducing a solid or coarse substance into pulp or minute grains by crushing, grinding, or pressing...
's circular motion into a back-and-forward motion powering the saw. This allowed wood to be cut at high precision and at a much faster rate (30 times faster) than could be achieved manually.
In 1594 Corneliszoon built the first sawmill, a small mill which floated on a raft. In 1595 the mill was sold and moved to
AlkmaarAlkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Noord Holland. Alkmaar is well-known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination.-History:...
. The remains of the mill were accidentally discovered in 2004 during excavations along the
Noordhollandsch KanaalThe Groot Noordhollandsch Kanaal , now known simply as Noordhollandsch Kanaal, is a canal in the Dutch province of North-Holland...
canal.
Corneliszoon was granted a
patentA patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention....
on his crankshaft in 1597. His sawmill soon developed into a more advanced version, the
paltrokmolen (
post millThe post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. The defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. The earliest post mills in England are thought to have...
), which played a key part in the economic success of the
Dutch RepublicThe Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands,...
during the
Dutch Golden AgeThe Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, and art were among the most acclaimed in the world.- Causes of the Golden Age :...
in the 17th century by enabling the mass construction of ships for overseas trade. The mill turned the
ZaanThe Zaan is a small river in the province of North-Holland in The Netherlands and the name of the district through which it runs. The river was originally a side arm of the IJ bay and travels 10 kilometers through the municipality of Zaanstad north of Amsterdam, from West-Knollendam in the north...
district, north of
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
, into the world's first industrial area.
In addition to inventing the sawmill, Cornelis Corneliszoon also held various other mill-related patents, including an early version of a
centrifugal pumpA centrifugal pump is a rotodynamic pump that uses a rotating impeller to increase the pressure of a fluid. Centrifugal pumps are commonly used to move liquids through a piping system...
. He was a
sawyerSawyer is an English occupational surname for someone who made a living from sawing wood.This term may also refer to:-Places:In the United States:*Sawyer, Kansas*Sawyer, Michigan*Sawyer, North Dakota*Sawyer, Oklahoma*Sawyer County, Wisconsin...
who specialized in building windmills and he was married to Trijn Pieters, daughter of the
millerA miller usually refers to a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a cereal crop to make flour.Milling is among the oldest of human occupations...
of flour mill "
De Krijger" on the
Meldijk in Uitgeest. It is not known when exactly he died; it was sometime between 1600 and 1607. A street in Uitgeest is named for him.
Namesakes
Corneliszoon should not be confused with contemporary namesakes such as:
- Painter Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem
Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem , Dutch Golden Age painter and draughtsman, was one of the leading Northern Mannerist artists in The Netherlands, and an important forerunner of Frans Hals as a portraitist.-Biography:...
- Naval commander Cornelis Cornelisz Jol
Cornelis Corneliszoon Jol , nicknamed Houtebeen , was a 17th-Century Dutch corsair and admiral in the Dutch West India Company during the Eighty Year's War between Spain and the fledgling Dutch Republic...
, popularly known as "Kapitein Houtebeen" ("Captain Pegleg")
- Polar explorer Cornelis Cornelisz Nay
Cornelis Corneliszoon Nay was a Dutch navigator and explorer who attempted to discover the Northeast Passage from Europe to the Far East.Nay hailed from Enkhuizen in The Netherlands. In June of 1594, he set out from the Dutch island of Texel with a small fleet to discover the Northeast Passage....
.
External links