CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ART (1400-1799)


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.)
TRITHEMUS
RAPHAEL

1400

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

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

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, 1632, 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.
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.
1645: Beginnings of the ROYAL SOCIETY ("The Invisible College")

1600

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.
<THOMAS HOBBES
ATHANASIUS KIRCHER
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."
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."

1650

1687:NEWTON's "PRINCIPIA."
1690:HUYGENS--- "TRAITÉ DE LUMIERE."
1698:SAVERY--- Steam pump.

BEGINNINGS OF ORGANIC AND BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

Much anatomical and physiological work prior to 1700 (see Iatrochemistry) contributed to the beginnings of physiological chemistry.
1712: NEWCOMEN--- Steam engine.
1714:FAHRENHEIT--- Mercury thermometer.

1735: LINNAEUS--- "SYSTEMA NATURAE."
1743: Founding American Philosophical Society
1745: Leyden jar condenser.

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

1700

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.
NEUMAN: 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.
1753: LUND: "A TREATISE OF THE SCURVY"
Work of BLACK, MACBRIDE, et al., shows relation of CO2 to fermentation and putrefaction. MACBRIDE: Fixed air is united to red corpuscles.
-

1750

SCHEELE: Isolated or prepared: tartaric, prussic, hydrofluoric, molybdic, tungstic, arsenic, lactic, citric, malid acids. Glycerol from fat.
-- 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.
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.
ca. 1774: BERGMAN: FIXED AIR (CO2): AERIAL ACID. Recognized three constituents of air:
  1. AERIAL ACID.
  2. Inert part.
  3. 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.
1779: INGENHOUSZ: "EXPERIMENTS UPON VEGETABLES."
1785: BERTHOLLET: Chlorine as bleach.