Pathani Samanta
Pathani Samanta was an Indian astrologer and scholar who measured the distance from earth with a bamboo pipe and many other traditional instruments that he built. This earned him the Mahamahopadhyaya award in 1893. His observations, research and calculations were compiled into a book Siddhanta Darpana which has verses written in Sanskrit in Odia script.
Samanta was born in the princely state of Khandapada in Nayagarh district in the Indian state of Odisha. He was an eminent naked eye astronomer. He studied in Sanskrit and researched traditional Indian astronomy.
Source: Wikipedia