1728 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1728 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
- James BradleyJames BradleyJames Bradley FRS was an English astronomer and served as Astronomer Royal from 1742, succeeding Edmund Halley. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light , and the nutation of the Earth's axis...
uses stellar aberrationAberrationAn aberration is something that deviates from the normal way.Aberration may refer to:In optics and physics:*Optical aberration, an imperfection in image formation by an optical system...
(first observed in 1725) to calculate the speed of lightSpeed of lightThe speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time...
to be approximately 301 000 km/s. - James Bradley observes nutation of the Earth's axisNutationNutation is a rocking, swaying, or nodding motion in the axis of rotation of a largely axially symmetric object, such as a gyroscope, planet, or bullet in flight, or as an intended behavior of a mechanism...
.
Births
- February 13 - John HunterJohn Hunter (surgeon)John Hunter FRS was a Scottish surgeon regarded as one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. He was an early advocate of careful observation and scientific method in medicine. The Hunterian Society of London was named in his honour...
, 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,...
surgeonSurgeonIn medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
, pathologist, and comparative anatomist (died 17931793 in scienceThe year 1793 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Events:* October 24 - The French Republican Calendar, devised by Gilbert Romme, is adopted by the National Convention.-Biology:...
) - April 16 - Joseph BlackJoseph BlackJoseph Black FRSE FRCPE FPSG was a Scottish physician and chemist, known for his discoveries of latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was professor of Medicine at University of Glasgow . James Watt, who was appointed as philosophical instrument maker at the same university...
, Scottish 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...
and 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...
(died 17991799 in scienceThe year 1799 in science and technology involved many significant events, listed below.-Archaeology:* July 15 - In the Egyptian port city of Rosetta , French Captain Pierre Bouchard finds the Rosetta Stone, which will become the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing.* July 25 -...
) - September 3 - Matthew BoultonMatthew BoultonMatthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
, mechanical engineer (died 18091809 in scienceThe year 1809 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* Carl Friedrich Gauss publishes Theoria motus corporum coelestium in sectionibus conicis solem ambientum in Hamburg, introducing the Gaussian gravitational constant and containing an influential...
) - October 27 - James CookJames CookCaptain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
, EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
explorer (died 17791779 in scienceThe year 1779 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* March 23 - Edward Pigott discovers the Black Eye Galaxy .* May 5 - The spiral galaxy M61 is discovered in the constellation Virgo by Barnabus Oriani.-Technology:...
) - 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...
, SwissSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
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...
(died 17971797 in scienceThe year 1797 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Births:* January 14 - Wilhelm Beer, Prussian astronomer * April 29 - George Don, Scottish botanist * November 14 - Charles Lyell, Scottish geologist...
)
Deaths
- August 11 - William SherardWilliam SherardWilliam Sherard was an English botanist. Next to John Ray, he was considered to be one of the outstanding English botanists of his day.-Life:...
, EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
botanist (born 16591659 in scienceThe year 1659 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* Christiaan Huygens publishes Systema Saturnium, including the first illustration of the Orion Nebula.-Births:...
)