Marin Mersenne, Marin Mersennus or le Père Mersenne (September 8, 1588 – September 1, 1648) was a French theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, often referred to as the "father of acoustics" .
Life
Marin Mersenne (pronounced Mayr-senn) was born of peasant parents near Oizé, Maine (present day Sarthe). He was educated at Le Mans and at the Jesuit College of La Flèche. On July 17, 1611, he joined the Minim Friars, and, after studying theology and Hebrew in Paris received his full holy orders in 1613.For a time, he taught philosophy at Nevers but returned to Paris in 1620 at the convent of L'Annonciade. There, with other kindred spirits such as Descartes, Étienne Pascal, Gilles de Roberval and Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, he studied mathematics and music. He corresponded with Giovanni Doni, Constantijn Huygens and other scholars in Italy, England and Holland. For four years he devoted himself entirely to philosophic and theological writing, and publishe
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mersenne