1620 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1620 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.
Astronomy
- The work of CopernicusNicolaus CopernicusNicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
(d. 15431543 in scienceThe year 1543 in science and technology marks the beginning of the Scientific revolution and included many events, some of which are listed here.-Astronomy:...
) is edited and released, as directed by the Congregation of the IndexIndex Librorum ProhibitorumThe Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
(reading forbidden in March 16161616 in scienceThe year 1616 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* Galileo challenges the Catholic Church, saying Copernicus' theory of the Solar System is correct...
): nine sentences, which state the heliocentric system as certain, are either omitted or changed.
Chemistry
- The scientific method of reasoning is expounded by Francis Bacon in his Novum OrganumNovum OrganumThe Novum Organum, full original title Novum Organum Scientiarum, is a philosophical work by Francis Bacon, written in Latin and published in 1620. The title translates as new instrument, i.e. new instrument of science. This is a reference to Aristotle's work Organon, which was his treatise on...
.
Earth sciences
- Francis Bacon notices the jigsaw fit of the opposite shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
Medicine
- Nicholas Habicot, surgeon to the Duke of NemoursDuke of NemoursIn the 12th and 13th centuries the Lordship of Nemours, in the Gatinais, France, was in possession of the house of Villebeon, a member of which, Gautier, was marshal of France in the middle of the 13th century...
, publishes a report of four successful "bronchotomies" which he has performed; these include the first recorded case of a tracheotomyTracheotomyAmong the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
for the removal of a thrombusThrombusA thrombus , or blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. It is achieved via the aggregation of platelets that form a platelet plug, and the activation of the humoral coagulation system...
and the first pediatricPediatricsPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
tracheotomy, to extract a foreign body from a 14-year-old's esophagusEsophagusThe esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...
.
Births
- April? - William BrounckerWilliam Brouncker, 2nd Viscount BrounckerWilliam Brouncker, 2nd Viscount Brouncker, PRS was an English mathematician.Brouncker obtained a DM at the University of Oxford in 1647. He was one of the founders and the first President of the Royal Society. In 1662, he became Chancellor to Queen Catherine, then chief of the Saint Catherine's...
, Anglo-IrishAnglo-IrishAnglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
(d. 16841684 in scienceThe year 1684 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Physics:* Isaac Newton proves that planets moving under an inverse-square force law will obey Kepler's laws-Births:...
) - July 21 - Jean PicardJean PicardJean-Felix Picard was a French astronomer and priest born in La Flèche, where he studied at the Jesuit Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand. He was the first person to measure the size of the Earth to a reasonable degree of accuracy in a survey conducted in 1669–70, for which he is honored with a...
, FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
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...
(d. 16821682 in scienceThe year 1682 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* A comet is observed, which later becomes known as Comet Halley, after Edmund Halley successfully predicts its return in 1758.-Botany:...
) - Bernard de GommeBernard de GommeSir Bernard de Gomme was a Dutch military engineer. By some he is considered the most important figure in 17th century English military engineering.-Early life:...
, DutchDutch RepublicThe Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
military engineerMilitary engineerIn military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
(d. 16851685 in scienceThe year 1685 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Medicine:* Govert Bidloo publishes an atlas of human anatomy, Ontleding des menschelyken lichaams, with plates by Gerard de Lairesse.-Technology:...
) - Edme MariotteEdme MariotteEdme Mariotte was a French physicist and priest.- Biography :Edme Mariotte was the youngest son of Simon Mariotte, administrator at the district Til-Châtel , and Catherine Denisot . His parents lived in Til-Châtel and had 4 other children: Jean, Denise, Claude, and Catharine...
, French 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...
(d. 1684) - Robert MorisonRobert MorisonRobert Morison was a Scottish botanist and taxonomist. A forerunner of John Ray, he elucidated and developed the first systematic classification of plants.-Life:...
, ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
botanist (d. 16831683 in scienceThe year 1683 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Events:* Vauban's manual on fortification, Le Directeur-Général des fortifications, begins publication at The Hague.-Births:...
)