Cornelis Drebbel

Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel (1572 to 1633) was a Dutch engineer and inventor from Alkmaar who spent much of his working life in England in the service of the English crown. He is best known in transport history as the builder of the first operational submarine, which he constructed and tested around 1620 while working for the English Royal Navy. His submersible vessel, propelled by oars sealed through the hull with leather flaps, was reportedly able to travel underwater from Westminster to Greenwich along the River Thames at a depth of roughly twelve to fifteen feet, and King James I is said to have taken a ride in it, making him the first monarch on record to travel underwater. Beyond the submarine, Drebbel worked on measurement and control instruments, optics and chemistry, and he had studied under the engraver and alchemist Hendrick Goltzius, whose daughter he married in 1595. Drebbel died in London in November 1633, living in comparatively reduced circumstances after running an ale house in his later years.