1644 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1644 AD 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
- The Basel problemBasel problemThe Basel problem is a famous problem in mathematical analysis with relevance to number theory, first posed by Pietro Mengoli in 1644 and solved by Leonhard Euler in 1735. Since the problem had withstood the attacks of the leading mathematicians of the day, Euler's solution brought him immediate...
is posed by Pietro MengoliPietro MengoliPietro Mengoli was an Italian mathematician and clergyman from Bologna, where he studied with Bonaventura Cavalieri at the University of Bologna, and succeeded him in 1647...
, and will puzzle mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
s until solved by Leonhard EulerLeonhard EulerLeonhard Euler was a pioneering Swiss mathematician and physicist. He made important discoveries in fields as diverse as infinitesimal calculus and graph theory. He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion...
in 17311735 in scienceThe year 1735 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* July 11 - Pluto enters a fourteen year period inside the orbit of Neptune, which will not recur until 1979.-Chemistry:...
.
Births
- September 25 - Ole Rømer, DanishDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
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...
who makes the first quantitative measurements of the speed of lightSpeed of lightThe speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
(d. 17101710 in scienceThe year 1710 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Events:* The Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala is founded in Uppsala, Sweden, as the Collegium curiosorum .-Physiology and medicine:...
)
Deaths
- July 2 - William GascoigneWilliam Gascoigne (scientist)William Gascoigne was an English astronomer, mathematician and maker of scientific instruments from Middleton near Leeds who invented the micrometer...
, EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
scientist (b. 16101610 in scienceThe year 1610 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* January 11 - Galileo Galilei observes Jupiter's four largest moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto...
) - December 30 - Jan Baptist van HelmontJan Baptist van HelmontJan Baptist van Helmont was an early modern period Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be "the founder of pneumatic chemistry"...
, FlemishFlemish peopleThe Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
chemistChemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
(b. 15791579 in scienceThe year 1579 in science and technology included a number of events, some of which are listed here.-Exploration:* June 17 - Francis Drake, during his circumnavigation of the world, lands in what is now California, which he claims for Queen Elizabeth I of England as Nova Albion.-Births:* January 12 ...
)