Simon von Stampfer

Simon Ritter von Stampfer (October 26, 1792 (according to other sources 1790), in Windisch-Mattrai, Archbishopric of Salzburg today called Matrei in Osttirol, Tyrol – November 10, 1864 in Vienna) was an Austrian mathematician, surveyor and inventor. His most famous invention is that of the stroboscopic disk which has a claim to be the first device to show moving images. Almost simultaneously similar devices were produced independently in Belgium (the phenakistiskop), and Britain (the zoetrope).