1664 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1664 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
- January 18 - Isaac BarrowIsaac BarrowIsaac Barrow was an English Christian theologian, and mathematician who is generally given credit for his early role in the development of infinitesimal calculus; in particular, for the discovery of the fundamental theorem of calculus. His work centered on the properties of the tangent; Barrow was...
is appointed first Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. - Blaise PascalBlaise PascalBlaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
's paper on the properties of the triangleTriangleA triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
is published posthumously.
Medicine
- Thomas WillisThomas WillisThomas Willis was an English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry. He was a founding member of the Royal Society.-Life:...
publishes Cerebri Anatome, cui accessit nervorum descriptio et usus 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...
, including illustrations by 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...
. This contains an accurate account of the nervous system and introduces the term "neurologyNeurologyNeurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
".
Births
- February 24 - Thomas NewcomenThomas NewcomenThomas Newcomen was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, near a part of the country noted for its tin mines. Flooding was a major problem, limiting the depth at which the mineral could be mined...
, 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...
inventor (d. 17291729 in scienceThe year 1729 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* January 9 & 16 - James Bradley, in a letter written to Edmond Halley and read before the Royal Society, describes his discovery of aberration of starlight.* August 1 - Fr...
)
Deaths
- July 11 (bur.) - Jan JanssoniusJan JanssoniusJohannes Janssonius was a Dutch cartographer who lived and worked in Amsterdam in the 17th century....
, 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...
cartographer (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....
) - August 22 - Maria CunitzMaria CunitzMaria Cunitz or Maria Cunitia was an accomplished Silesian astronomer, and one of the most notable female astronomers of the modern era...
, SilesiaSilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n 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. 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...
)