1617 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1617 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
- Napier’s Bones, a multiplication device invented by John NapierJohn NapierJohn Napier of Merchiston – also signed as Neper, Nepair – named Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, astronomer & astrologer, and also the 8th Laird of Merchistoun. He was the son of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston. John Napier is most renowned as the discoverer...
, is described in his RabdologiæRabdologyIn 1617 a treatise in Latin entitled Rabdologiæ and writtenby John Napier was published in Edinburgh. Printed three yearsafter his treatise on the discovery of logarithms and in the same year...
, published in EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Medicine
- The Worshipful Society of ApothecariesWorshipful Society of ApothecariesThe Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Originally, apothecaries were members of the Grocers' Company and before this members of the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180...
of 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...
is granted a royal charterRoyal CharterA royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
, separating it from the GrocersWorshipful Company of GrocersThe Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London. It is ranked second in the order of precedence of the Companies and, having been established in 1345, is one of the original Great Twelve City Livery Companies....
.
Births
- July 13 (bapt.) - Ralph CudworthRalph CudworthRalph Cudworth was an English philosopher, the leader of the Cambridge Platonists.-Life:Born at Aller, Somerset, he was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, gaining his MA and becoming a Fellow of Emmanuel in 1639. In 1645, he became master of Clare Hall and professor of Hebrew...
, Cambridge PlatonistCambridge PlatonistsThe Cambridge Platonists were a group of philosophers at Cambridge University in the middle of the 17th century .- Programme :...
(d. 16881688 in scienceThe year 1688 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed here.-Births:* January 29 - Emanuel Swedenborg, scientist and theologian * April 4 - Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, astronomer...
).
Deaths
- February 6 - Prospero AlpiniProspero AlpiniProspero Alpini , was a Venetian physician and botanist....
, ItalianItalian peopleThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
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 botanist (b. 1553). - April 4 - John NapierJohn NapierJohn Napier of Merchiston – also signed as Neper, Nepair – named Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, astronomer & astrologer, and also the 8th Laird of Merchistoun. He was the son of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston. John Napier is most renowned as the discoverer...
of MerchistonMerchistonMerchiston is a prosperous, mainly residential area in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The housing is primarily a mixture of large, late Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian villas – several of the latter by Edward Calvert – together with a smaller number of Victorian tenements and...
, mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
(b. 15501550 in science-Medicine:* approx. date - Establishment of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London.-Births:* September 30 - Michael Maestlin, German astronomer and mathematician * John Napier, Scottish mathematician...
). - May 7 - David FabriciusDavid FabriciusDavid Fabricius , was a German theologian who made two major discoveries in the early days of telescopic astronomy, jointly with his eldest son, Johannes Fabricius ....
, FrisianFrisiansThe Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
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. 15641564 in scienceThe year 1564 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed here.-Births:* February 15 - Galileo Galilei, Pisan astronomer .* March 9 - David Fabricius, Frisian astronomer .-Deaths:...
)