CONTEMPORARY EVENTS IN SCIENCE (1400-1799)

CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ART (1400-1799)

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1400 1500 1550 1600 1650 1700 1750

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The influence of printing on the development of science was enormous.
By the easier dissemination of knowledge scientific communication was encouraged.

CONTEMPORARIES	YEARS	DEVELOPMENTS
LEONARDO DA VINCI (Other Da Vinci reference.) His observation/speculation: "Fire consumes air." ( later ideas of combustion.) TRITHEMIUS RAPHAEL	1400 Return to top	ca. 1450: invention of printing by LAURENZ COSTER at Haarlem and JOHANN GUTENBERG in Mainz. 1454: Fall of Constantinople to the Turks. Scattering of Greek scientists spreads knowledge.
AGRIPPA VON NETTESHEIM ALBRECHT DÜRER MARTIN LUTHER	1500 Return to top Parallel Events	ca. 1510: NÜTZLICHES BERGBUECHLEIN" (geological and mineralogical) "PROBIERBUCHLEIN" (assaying). Two practical handbooks, authorship unknown, for mining engineers and metallurgists. 1543: COPERNICUS--- "DE REVOLUTIONIBUS ORBIUM COELESTIUM" 1543: ANDREAS VESALIUS--- "DE HUMANI CORPORIS FABRICA." Overthrow of Galenic philosophy; foundation of modern anatomy. TYCHO BRAHE--- introduces more exact measurements
MICHELANGELO TITIAN	1550 Return to top	PALISSY: Maker and decorator of pottery. His own discoveries of little importance, but he showed by precept and example the value of experiment. 1540: VANNUCIO BIRINGUCCIO: "DE LA PIROTECHNIA". First systematic treatment of mining and metallurgy. First description of the recovery of silver by amalgamation. CONRAD GESSNER: "DE REMEDIUS SECRETIS", etc. 1556: "DE RE METALLICA"--- AGRICOLA. On mining, metallurgy, etc. Greatest work on any chemical industry written before the 17th Century. 1574: "BESCHREIBUNG: ALLERFUNEMISTEN MINERALISCHEN ERTZT UNND BERCKWERKS ARTEN" ERCKER. Second only to AGRICOLA (see above) in contributions to mining and metallurgy. 1590: First compound microscope by HANS and ZACHARIAS JANSSEN. 1597: "ALCHEMIA" --- LIBAVIUS. First real textbook of chemistry. Preparation of ammonium sulfate; H₂SO₄ from sulfur and saltpeter.
1600: WILLIAM GILBERT--- "DE MAGNETE." 1600: BRUNO burnt. 1601: DELLA PORTA 1603: GALILEO--- First thermoscope. DEVELOPMENT OF THE STEAM ENGINE. (HERO's (284-221 B.C.) steam "engine") (see below, 1629, Steam Windmill) 1605: FRANCIS BACON --- "THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING" 1608: First telescope by LIPPERSHEY, ZACHARIAS JENSEN, and METIUS. 1609: JOHANN KEPLER--- "ASTRONOMIA NOVA." Elliptical orbits of planets. 1610: GALILEO--- "SIDERIUS NUNCIUS." (The telescope in astronomy) 1614: NAPIER--- "LOGARITHMORUM" 1620: FRANCIS BACON--- "NOVUM ORGANUM" (Inductive method) 1623: "DE AUGMENTIS SCIENTIARUM" 1627: JOHANN KEPLER: "TABULAE RUDOLPHINAE" KEPLER: "DIOPTRICS" (Theory of the telescope). WILLIAM HARVEY (1628): "DE MOTU CORDIS." Announcement of the circulation of blood. 1629: GIOVANNI BRANCA---- Steam windmill. (see above, 1603, Development of steam engine) 1632: GALILEO--- "DIOLOGO" 1637:RENÉ DESCARTES--- "DISCOURS DE LA METHODE" 1638:GALILEO--- "DISCORSI E DIAMONSTRAZIONE MATEMATISCHE" 1639:GASCOIGNE--- invents micrometer. 1643:TORRICELLI--- Discovers pressure of air and nature of barometric vacuum.	1600 Return to top Parallel Events	GASSENDI JOHANN and JOHANN ISAAC HOLLANDUS. (ca. 1600): Works of little importance that probably are drawn, in part, from PARACELSUS. GLAUBER: excellent practical chemist and reliable recorder. Substituted water for mercury in the TRIA PRIMA of PARACELSUS. "FURNI NOVI PHILOSOPHICI"---well described observations and many new experiments. "MIRACULUM MUNDI"--- Exaggerated account of his "sal-mirabile" (Na₂SO₄^.10H₂O---"Glauber's Salt"). SYLVIUS: extends VAN HELMONT'S ideas of chemical physiology. Diseases generally due to hyperacidity or hyperalkalinity. 1645: Beginnings of the ROYAL SOCIETY ("The Invisible College")
THOMAS HOBBES GLASER LE FEVRE ATHANASIUS KIRCHER HOMBERG J. KUNCKEL: Chiefly a practical chemist. HOOKE ---- 1665: "MICROGRAPHIA." 1657: HUYGENS--- First pendulum clock. 1662: Charter of the ROYAL SOCIETY 1668: Académie Royal des Sciences, in Paris 1669: NEWTON--- The Calculus LEIBNITZ 1672: GUERICKE--- "EXPERIMENTA NOVA." LEEUWENHOEK: First accurate description of red blood corpuscles. Bacteria first observed. MAYOW (1641-1679): shows that not all air is necessary for respiration. 1687: NEWTON's "PRINCIPIA." 1690: HUYGENS--- "TRAITÉ DE LUMIERE." 1698: SAVERY--- Steam pump.	1650 Return to top	1675: "COURS DE CHYMIE." Popular chemical textbook largely based on C GLASER'S 1663 "TRAITÉ DE LA CHEMIE." 1679: KUNCKEL'S "ARS VITRARIA EXPERIMENTALIS" on glass-making and coloring.
BEGINNINGS OF ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY Much anatomical and physiological work prior to 1700 (see Iatrochemistry) contributed to the beginnings of physiological chemistry.
1700: G. W. LEIBNITZ--- Founding of Prussian Akademie der Wissenschaft. 1704:NEWTON's "OPTICS." Newton suggests force of chemical attraction: "All the operations therefore which chemistry performs on bodies are mere changes in respect of Motion...A body may be changed...when there is a transposition of its constituent parts." 1712: NEWCOMEN--- Steam engine. 1714:FAHRENHEIT--- Mercury thermometer. 1735: LINNAEUS--- "SYSTEMA NATURAE." 1743: Founding American Philosophical Society 1745: Leyden jar condenser. 1753: LUND: "A TREATISE OF THE SCURVY"	1700 Return to top Parallel Events	BEGINNINGS OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY Earlier (~1500) assaying of ores. VAN HELMONT (1577-1644): The qualities of the metals persist in their solutions. TACHENIUS (ca. 1620-1690): Devised the rudiments of one of the first qualitative analysis systems. NEUMANN: Analyzed many substances, chiefly organic. HOFFMAN: Introduced many methods of analysis, especially of waters. HALES: "Plants obtain nutriment from the air." Conception of blood pressure. 1727: "VEGETABLE STATICKS" 1733: "STATICAL ESSAYS" POTT: Developed dry methods of analysis. Showed that "plumbago" contains no lead. MARGGRAF: Improved wet methods of analysis. Determined composition of gypsum, phosphoric acid, magnesia. 1748: ABBÉ NOLLET: First osmotic experiments. Work of BLACK, MACBRIDE, et al., shows relation of CO₂ to fermentation and putrefaction. MACBRIDE: Fixed air is united to red corpuscles.
1751: FRANKLIN--- "EXPERIMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS ON ELECTRICITY 1756: Cement first made. 1761: MORGANI--- "DE SEDIBUS ET CAUSIS MORBORUM" 1768: WATT--- Hot cylinder and separate condenser. F.M. VOLTAIRE DAVID HUME IMMANUEL KANT J.J. ROUSSEAU	1750 Return to top	SCHEELE: Isolated or prepared: tartaric, prussic, hydrofluoric, molybdic, tungstic, arsenic, lactic, citric, malic acids. Glycerol from fat.
1773: ROUELLE: Composition of plant ash. POTT: improves art of porcelain making. 1779: INGENHOUSZ: "EXPERIMENTS UPON VEGETABLES." 1780: SPALLANZANI: "DELLA DIGESTIONI DEGLI ANIMALI." 1780: LAVOISIER and LAPLACE: On animal heat. 1798: JENNER: "AN INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF VARIOLAE VACCINAE."	-	1771: PRIESTLEY: Transpiring plants give off "dephlogisticated air". 1772: PRIESTLEY: Prepared and studied: NO and its action on air; HCl, NH₃, SO₂. 1772: PRIESTLEY introduced soda water and prepared "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen) from HgO. 1781 publication. LAVOISIER: First determination of respiratory quotient. 1773: ROUELLE: Composition of plant ash. BERGMAN: extensive works on analysis, especially water. Comparative analysis of iron and steel. BERGMAN (ca. 1774): FIXED AIR (CO₂) Recognized three constituents of air: AERIAL ACID. Inert part. Combustible part, = PURE AIR. Tabulated chemical affinities. Classified minerals by chemical constitution. 1775: "DE ATTRACTIONIBUS ELECTIVIS." KLAPROTH: Refined and improved analytical methods and standards, particularly quantitative analysis. One of the first to appreciate the importance of pure reagents. 1777: WENZEL: "LEHRE VON DER VERWANDSCHAFT DER KÖRPER" Beginning ideas of chemical equivalency. J. RICHTER 1779: INGENHOUSZ: "EXPERIMENTS UPON VEGETABLES." 1785: BERTHOLLET: Chlorine as bleach. 1781: PRIESTLEY: "DIFFERENT KINDS OF AIR" 1786: BERTHOLLET: Obtains NH₃ by dry distillation of animal tissues. 1789: HIGGINS anticipates the Atomic Theory.