1757 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1757 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
- 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...
presents accurate tables of the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
's motion to the Board of LongitudeBoard of LongitudeThe Board of Longitude was the popular name for the Commissioners for the Discovery of the Longitude at Sea. It was a British Government body formed in 1714 to administer a scheme of prizes intended to encourage innovators to solve the problem of finding longitude at sea.-Origins:Navigators and...
in Great BritainKingdom of Great BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
.
Medicine
- December 8 - Opening of the "New Lying-In" or Rotunda HospitalRotunda HospitalThe Rotunda Hospital is one of the three main maternity hospitals in the city of Dublin, the others being the The Coombe and The National Maternity Hospital...
in Dublin, designed by Richard CasselsRichard CasselsRichard Cassels , who anglicised his name to Richard Castle, ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Although German, his family were of French origin, descended from the...
. - Albrecht von HallerAlbrecht von HallerAlbrecht von Haller was a Swiss anatomist, physiologist, naturalist and poet.-Early life:He was born of an old Swiss family at Bern. Prevented by long-continued ill-health from taking part in boyish sports, he had the more opportunity for the development of his precocious mind...
begins publication of Elementa physiologiae corporis humani in SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland 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....
.
Technology
- Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
invents a three-wheel clock movement, which later leads to several variants in the design of pendulumPendulumA pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position...
clocks. - The GrubenmannGrubenmannSeveral members of the Swiss family Grubenmann were famous as joiners and civil engineers in the 18th century. The sons were innovators in bridge construction....
brothers complete timber arch bridgeArch bridgeAn arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...
s in Switzerland which include the longest vehicular bridge spans extant at this date:- Crossing the Rhine at SchaffhausenSchaffhausenSchaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....
in two spans of 52 m and 59 m (by Hans Ulrich) - A single-span of 67 m at Reichenau (by JohannesJohannes GrubenmannJohannes Grubenmann was a member of the Swiss family Grubenmann who were famous as joiners and civil engineers in the eighteenth century....
)
- Crossing the Rhine at Schaffhausen
Births
- June 22 - George VancouverGeorge VancouverCaptain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
, explorer (died 17981798 in scienceThe year 1798 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Chemistry:* The element beryllium is discovered by Louis Vauquelin as the oxide in beryl and in emeralds. Friedrich Wöhler and A. A...
) - August 9 - Thomas TelfordThomas TelfordThomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
, engineer (died 18341834 in scienceThe year 1834 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Events:* March - William Whewell first publishes the term scientist in the Quarterly Review, but notes it as "not generally palatable"....
)
Deaths
- August 28 - David HartleyDavid Hartley (philosopher)David Hartley was an English philosopher and founder of the Associationist school of psychology. -Early life and education:...
, English physician and psychologist (born 17051705 in scienceThe year 1705 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* Edmond Halley, in his Synopsis Astronomia Cometicae, states that comets seen in 1456, 1531, 1607, and 1682 were actually a single comet and correctly predicts that it will return in 1758.-Births:* February 22 -...
) - October 17 - Rene Antoine Ferchault de ReaumurRené Antoine Ferchault de RéaumurRené Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur was a French scientist who contributed to many different fields, especially the study of insects.-Life:Réaumur was born in a prominent La Rochelle family and educated in Paris...
, French physicist (born 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:...
)