1637 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1637 in science
and technology
involved some significant events.
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
involved some significant events.
Mathematics
- René DescartesRené DescartesRené Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...
introduces the Cartesian coordinate systemCartesian coordinate systemA Cartesian coordinate system specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances from the point to two fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the same unit of length...
in his work La GéométrieLa GéométrieLa Géométrie was published in 1637 as an appendix to Discours de la méthode , written by René Descartes. In the Discourse, he presents his method for obtaining clarity on any subject...
and promotes intellectual rigour in Discours de la méthode pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la vérité dans les sciences (published in Leiden).
Births
- February 12 - Jan SwammerdamJan SwammerdamJan Swammerdam was a Dutch biologist and microscopist. His work on insects demonstrated that the various phases during the life of an insect—egg, larva, pupa, and adult—are different forms of the same animal. As part of his anatomical research, he carried out experiments on muscle contraction...
, DutchNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
naturalistNatural historyNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, pioneer of comparative anatomyComparative anatomyComparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny .-Description:...
and entomologyEntomologyEntomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
(d. 16801680 in scienceThe year 1680 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* November 14 NS - Great Comet of 1680 observed by Gottfried Kirch, the first comet discovered by telescope.-Botany:...
) - François MauriceauFrançois MauriceauFrançois Mauriceau was a French obstetrician from Paris. He received his training in obstetrics at the Hôtel-Dieu.Mauriceau was a leading obstetrician in 17th century Europe...
, FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
obstetrician (d. 17091709 in scienceThe year 1709 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Physics:* Francis Hauksbee publishes Physico-Mechanical Experiments on Various Subjects, summarizing the results of his many experiments with electricity and other topics....
)
Deaths
- June 24 - Nicolas-Claude Fabri de PeirescNicolas-Claude Fabri de PeirescNicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant who maintained a wide correspondence with scientists and was a successful organizer of scientific inquiry...
, French astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
(b. 15801580 in scienceThe year 1580 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed here.-Exploration:* September 26 - Francis Drake in the Golden Hind sails into Plymouth having completed the second circumnavigation of the world, westabout, begun in 1577.-Births:* December 1 - Nicolas-Claude...
) - May 19 - Isaac BeeckmanIsaac BeeckmanIsaac Beeckman was a Dutch philosopher and scientist, who, through his studies and contact with leading natural philosophers, may have "virtually given birth to modern atomism".-Biography:...
, Dutch philosopher and scientist (b. 15881588 in scienceThe year 1588 in science and technology, Armada year, included a number of events, some of which are listed here.-Astronomy:* Tycho Brahe publishes De mundi aetheri recentioribus phaenomenis in Uraniborg....
)