1761 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1761 in science
and technology
involved some significant events, listed below.
Guillaume Le Gentil
, who had hoped to observe from Pondicherry in India
, was prevented from doing so due to the Seven Years' War
and Ruđer Bošković arrives in Constantinople
late.
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, listed below.
Astronomy
- June 6 - The first transit of VenusTransit of VenusA transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against the solar disk. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun...
since Edmond HalleyEdmond HalleyEdmond Halley FRS was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist who is best known for computing the orbit of the eponymous Halley's Comet. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, following in the footsteps of John Flamsteed.-Biography and career:Halley...
suggested that its observation could determine the distance from the EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
to the SunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. Joseph-Nicolas DelisleJoseph-Nicolas DelisleJoseph-Nicolas Delisle was a French astronomer.-Life:He was one of the 11 sons of Claude Delisle . Like many of his brothers, among them Guillaume Delisle, he initially followed classical studies. Soon however, he moved to astronomy under the supervision of Joseph Lieutaud and Jacques Cassini...
set up a 62-station network for observing the transit. Those taking part included:- Nathaniel BlissNathaniel BlissThe Reverend Nathaniel Bliss was an English astronomer of the 18th century, serving as Britain's fourth Astronomer Royal between 1762 and 1764....
at the Royal Greenwich Observatory - César Cassini de ThuryCésar-François Cassini de ThuryCésar-François Cassini de Thury , also called Cassini III or Cassini de Thury, was a French astronomer and cartographer.- Biography :...
in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre... - Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'AuterocheJean-Baptiste Chappe d'AuterocheJean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche was a French astronomer, best known for his observations of the transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769.-Early life:...
in TobolskTobolskTobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of Siberia. Population: -History:...
, SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th... - Jeremiah DixonJeremiah DixonJeremiah Dixon was an English surveyor and astronomer who is perhaps best known for his work with Charles Mason, from 1763 to 1767, in determining what was later called the Mason-Dixon line....
and Charles MasonCharles MasonCharles Mason was an English astronomer who made significant contributions to 18th-century science and American history, particularly through his involvement with the survey of the Mason-Dixon line, which came to mark the division between the northern and southern United States...
in Cape TownCape TownCape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(they had originally planned to go to BengkuluBengkuluBengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...
, SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
) - Maximilian HellMaximilian HellMaximilian Hell, S.J. was a Hungarian astronomer and an ordained Jesuit priest from the Kingdom of Hungary.- Biography :...
in VardøVardøis a town and a municipality in Finnmark county in the extreme northeast part of Norway.Vardø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . The law required that all cities should be separated from their rural districts, but because of a low population and very few voters, this was...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... - Joseph de Lalande in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Tobias MayerTobias MayerTobias Mayer was a German astronomer famous for his studies of the Moon.He was born at Marbach, in Württemberg, and brought up at Esslingen in poor circumstances. A self-taught mathematician, he had already published two original geometrical works when, in 1746, he entered J.B. Homann's...
in GöttingenGöttingenGöttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:... - Nevil MaskelyneNevil MaskelyneThe Reverend Dr Nevil Maskelyne FRS was the fifth English Astronomer Royal. He held the office from 1765 to 1811.-Biography:...
in St Helena - Alexandre Pingré on Rodrigues IslandRodrigues (island)Rodrigues , sometimes spelled Rodriguez but named after the Portuguese explorer Diogo Rodrigues, is the smallest of the Mascarene Islands and a dependency of Mauritius...
- John WinthropJohn Winthrop (1714-1779)John Winthrop was the 2nd Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Harvard College. He was a distinguished mathematician, physicist and astronomer, born in Boston, Mass. His great-great-grandfather, also named John Winthrop, was founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony...
in St. John'sSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorSt. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, Newfoundland - Mikhail LomonosovMikhail LomonosovMikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art,...
, who finds the first evidence that the planet has an atmosphere
- Nathaniel Bliss
Guillaume Le Gentil
Guillaume Le Gentil
Guillaume Joseph Hyacinthe Jean-Baptiste Le Gentil de la Galaisière was a French astronomer.-Biography:...
, who had hoped to observe from Pondicherry in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, was prevented from doing so due to the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
and Ruđer Bošković arrives in Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
late.
Botany
- Louis Gérard publishes Flora Gallo-Provincialis, the first FloraFloraFlora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
arranged according to natural classification.
Medicine
- Samuel-Auguste TissotSamuel-Auguste TissotSamuel Auguste André David Tissot was a notable 18th century Swiss physician.A well reputed Swiss-Catholic neurologist, physician, professor and Vatican adviser who practiced in the Swiss city of Lausanne...
publishes Avis au peuple sur sa santé, a popular text of the century.
Births
- January 17 - Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet (d. 18321832 in scienceThe year 1832 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire begins publication of Histoire générale et particulière des anomalies de l’organisation chez l’homme et les animaux, a key text on teratology.-Exploration:* April 21 -...
), geologistGeologistA geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
. - February 1 - Christian Hendrik PersoonChristian Hendrik PersoonChristiaan Hendrik Persoon was a mycologist who made additions to Linnaeus' mushroom taxonomy.-Early life:...
(d. 18361836 in scienceThe year 1836 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* May 15 - Francis Baily, during an eclipse of the sun, observes the phenomenon named after him as Baily's beads.-Biology:...
), mycologist. - June 7 - John Rennie (d. 18211821 in scienceThe year 1821 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* Johann Franz Encke calculates that Comet Encke has a periodic orbit, the second comet after Comet Halley for which this has been discovered....
), civil engineerCivil engineerA civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. - November 30 - Smithson TennantSmithson TennantSmithson Tennant FRS was an English chemist.Tennant is best known for his discovery of the elements iridium and osmium, which he found in the residues from the solution of platinum ores in 1803. He also contributed to the proof of the identity of diamond and charcoal. The mineral tennantite is...
(d. 18151815 in scienceThe year 1815 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Biology:* Jean-Baptiste Lamarck begins publication of Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres.-Chemistry:...
), 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...
. - December 21 - Jean-Louis PonsJean-Louis PonsJean-Louis Pons was a French astronomer.Despite humble beginnings and being self-taught, he went on to become the greatest visual comet discoverer of all time: between 1801 and 1827 Pons discovered thirty-seven comets, more than any other person in history.- Early life :Pons was born at Peyre,...
(d. 18311831 in scienceThe year 1831 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* January 7 - Great Comet of 1831 first observed by John Herapath....
), 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...
. - December 25 - William GregorWilliam GregorWilliam Gregor was the British clergyman and mineralogist who discovered the elemental metal titanium.-Early years:...
(d. 18171817 in scienceThe year 1817 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Chemistry:* Discovery of cadmium by Friedrich Strohmeyer.* Discovery of lithium by Johann Arfvedson.* Discovery of selenium by Jöns Jakob Berzelius....
), mineralogist.
Deaths
- April 7 - Thomas BayesThomas BayesThomas Bayes was an English mathematician and Presbyterian minister, known for having formulated a specific case of the theorem that bears his name: Bayes' theorem...
, mathematician (born c. 17021702 in scienceThe year 1702 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* April 20 - Comet of 1702 : The 10th-closest comet approach in history, it missed Earth by a distance of 0.0437 AU ....
) - May 14 - Thomas SimpsonThomas SimpsonThomas Simpson FRS was a British mathematician, inventor and eponym of Simpson's rule to approximate definite integrals...
, British mathematician (born 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:...
) - November 30 - John DollondJohn DollondJohn Dollond was an English optician, known for his successful optics business and his patenting and commercialization of achromatic doublets.-Biography:...
, English optician (born 17061706 in scienceThe year 1706 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Mathematics:* William Jones publishes Synopsis palmariorum matheseos or, A New Introduction to the Mathematics, Containing the Principles of Arithmetic and Geometry Demonstrated in a Short and Easie Method ... Designed for .....
)