1660 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1660 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.
Events
- November 28 - At Gresham CollegeGresham CollegeGresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, twelve men, including Christopher WrenChristopher WrenSir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
, Robert BoyleRobert BoyleRobert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
, John WilkinsJohn WilkinsJohn Wilkins FRS was an English clergyman, natural philosopher and author, as well as a founder of the Invisible College and one of the founders of the Royal Society, and Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death....
, and Robert MorayRobert MoraySir Robert Moray was a Scottish soldier, statesman, diplomat, judge, spy, freemason and natural philosopher. He was well known to Charles I and Charles II, and the French cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin...
, meet after a lecture by Wren and resolve to found "a College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning", which will become the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
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Botany
- John RayJohn RayJohn Ray was an English naturalist, sometimes referred to as the father of English natural history. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after "having ascertained that such had been the practice of his family before him".He published important works on botany,...
publishes Catalogus plantarum circa Cantabrigiam nascentium, the first floraFlora (book)A Flora is a book or other work which describes the plant species occurring in an area or time period, often with the aim of allowing identification. Some classic and modern floras are listed below....
of an English countyCounties of EnglandCounties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. For administrative purposes, England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly is divided into 83 counties. The counties may consist of a single district or be divided into several...
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Physics
- Robert BoyleRobert BoyleRobert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
publishes New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air and its Effects (the second edition in 16621662 in scienceThe year 1662 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Botany:* February 16 - John Evelyn presents the basic text of his Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber to the College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning, probably...
will contain Boyle's LawBoyle's lawBoyle's law is one of many gas laws and a special case of the ideal gas law. Boyle's law describes the inversely proportional relationship between the absolute pressure and volume of a gas, if the temperature is kept constant within a closed system...
).
Births
- February 19 - Friedrich HoffmannFriedrich HoffmannFriedrich Hoffmann was a German physician and chemist.-Life and career:His family had been connected with medicine for 200 years before him. Born in Halle , he attended the local gymnasium where he acquired that taste for and skill in mathematics to which he attributed much of his after success...
, German physicianPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and 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...
(died 17421742 in scienceThe year 1742 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Technology:* Benjamin Robins publishes his in London, containing a description of his ballistic pendulum and the results of his scientific experiments into improvements in ballistics.-Births:* May 18 - Lionel Lukin, English...
) - April 16 - Hans SloaneHans SloaneSir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet, PRS was an Ulster-Scot physician and collector, notable for bequeathing his collection to the British nation which became the foundation of the British Museum...
, Ulster Scots-born collector and physician (died 17531753 in scienceThe year 1753 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* Ruđer Bošković's De lunae atmosphaera demonstrates the lack of atmosphere on the Moon.-Botany:...
) - March 15 - Olof Rudbeck the YoungerOlof Rudbeck the YoungerOlaus Rudbeckius, junior or Olof Rudbeck , Swedish explorer and scientist, son of Olaus Rudbeck Sr, Rudbeck Jr. succeeded his father as professor of medicine at Uppsala University. Young Rudbeck was an able botanist and ornithologist who took his doctor's degree in Utrecht in 1690...
, SwedishSwedesSwedes are a Scandinavian nation and ethnic group native to Sweden, mostly inhabiting Sweden and the other Nordic countries, with descendants living in a number of countries.-Etymology:...
naturalistNaturalistNaturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
(died 17401740 in scienceThe year 1740 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Physics:* Jacques-Barthélemy Micheli du Crest created a spirit thermometer, making use of two fixed points, 0 for "Temperature of earth" based on a cave at Paris Observatory and 100 for the heat of boiling water.* Émilie du...
) - approx. date - Edward LhuydEdward LhuydEdward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....
, WelshWelsh peopleThe Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
naturalist (died 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
- May 29 - Frans van SchootenFrans van SchootenFranciscus van Schooten was a Dutch mathematician who is most known for popularizing the analytic geometry of René Descartes.-Life:...
, 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...
CartesianRené 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...
mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
(born 16151615 in scienceThe year 1615 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* Johannes Kepler publishes Dissertatio cum Nuncio Sidereo in response to Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's moons.-Natural history:...
) - June 30 - William OughtredWilliam OughtredWilliam Oughtred was an English mathematician.After John Napier invented logarithms, and Edmund Gunter created the logarithmic scales upon which slide rules are based, it was Oughtred who first used two such scales sliding by one another to perform direct multiplication and division; and he is...
, 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...
mathematician who invented the slide ruleSlide ruleThe slide rule, also known colloquially as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used primarily for multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or subtraction.Slide rules come in a...
(born 15741574 in scienceThe year 1574 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Archaeology:* In Rome , in the river Tiber between the two bridges, the monument base is discovered for a statue of Simon Paeter , with inscription "Simoni Deo Sancto" .-Exploration:* Juan Fernández, a Portuguese...
) - Jean-Jacques ChiffletJean-Jacques ChiffletJean-Jacques Chifflet was a French physician, antiquary and archaeologist.-Life:He visited Paris and Montpellier, and travelled in Italy and Germany. He acted as court physician to Philip IV of Spain...
, 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...
physicianPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and antiquary (born 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....
) - Walter RumseyWalter RumseyWalter Rumsey was a Welsh judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He suffered for his support of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War...
, Welsh judgeJudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
and amateur scientist (born 15841584 in scienceThe year 1584 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed here.-Astronomy:* Completion of Tycho Brahe's subterranean observatory at Stjerneborg....
)