The year 1616 in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

involved some significant events.

Astronomy

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He was ...

challenges the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, saying

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated ...

heliocentric Heliocentrism (also known as the Heliocentric model) is the astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the universe. Historically, heliocentrism was opposed to geocentrism, which placed the Earth at ...

theory of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

is correct. On February 24 he is forbidden to speak of Copernicus's theories. Tommaso Campanella writes ''The Defense of Galileo''. * March 5 –

' ''

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ''De revolutionibus orbium coelestium'' (English translation: ''On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres'') is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) of the Polish Renaissance. The book, ...

'' (

1543 __NOTOC__ Year 1543 ( MDXLIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. It is one of the years sometimes referred to as an "Annus mirabilis" because of its significant publications in sc ...

) is forbidden by the

Congregation of the Index The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidde ...

for reading "until corrected" (this is done in

1620 Events January–June * February 4 – Prince Bethlen Gabor signs a peace treaty with Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. * May 17 – The first merry-go-round is seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey). * June 3 – The ...

: nine sentences, in which the heliocentric system is represented as certain, have to be either omitted or changed).

Biology

* William Harvey presents his views on the circulation of blood as Lumleian Lecturer at the College of Physicians, but will not publish them for a further dozen years. * Fortunio Liceti publishes ' which marks the beginning of studies into malformations of the

embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...

. *

Fabio Colonna Fabio Colonna (called ''Linceo''; 1567 – 25 July 1640) was an Italian naturalist and botanist. Biography He was the son of Girolamo Colonna, a philologist and antique dealer who was also editor of the fragments of the Latin poet Enniu ...

publishes ' in Rome, including two appendices, ' and ', where he argues that "tongue stones" are of organic origin, being shark teeth, ''glossopetrae''.

Exploration

* Robert Bylot and William Baffin, searching for the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

, make a detailed exploration of

Baffin Bay Baffin Bay ( Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; kl, Avannaata Imaa; french: Baie de Baffin), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arct ...

(March 26–August 30), discover

Smith Sound Smith Sound ( da, Smith Sund; french: Détroit de Smith) is an uninhabited Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Baffin Bay with Kane Basin and forms part of the Nares Strait. On the ...

, Lancaster Sound and

Devon Island Devon Island ( iu, ᑕᓪᓗᕈᑎᑦ, ) is an island in Canada and the largest uninhabited island (no permanent residents) in the world. It is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the largest members of the Ar ...

, and reach

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

77° 45' North, a record for the Farthest North in America which holds for 236 years.

Mathematics

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

Henry Briggs visits

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

to show John Napier his efficient method of finding

logarithm In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means the logarithm of a number to the base is the exponent to which must be raised, to produce . For example, since , the ''logarithm base'' 10 o ...

s by the continued extraction of square roots.

Technology

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Fausto Veranzio publishes ''Machinae novae,'' a book of mechanical and technological inventions, some of which are applicable to the solution of hydrological problems, and others concern the construction of

water clock A water clock or clepsydra (; ; ) is a timepiece by which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into (inflow type) or out from (outflow type) a vessel, and where the amount is then measured. Water clocks are one of the oldest time-m ...

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

s, mills, presses, bridges and boats. * Italian

Giuliano Bossi People with the Italian given name or surname Giuliano () have included: In arts and entertainment Surname * Geoffrey Giuliano, American author * Maurizio Giuliano, writer and Guinness-record-holding traveler Given name * Giuliano Gemma, actor * ...

invents a double-barreled gun.

Publications

* Publication of the alchemical

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

''The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz'' (''Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459'') anonymously (probably by

Johannes Valentinus Andreae Johannes Valentinus Andreae (17 August 1586 – 27 June 1654), a.k.a. Johannes Valentinus Andreä or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a German theologian, who claimed to be the author of an ancient text known as the ''Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Ro ...

) in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

Births

* October 18 –

Nicholas Culpeper Nicholas Culpeper (18 October 1616 – 10 January 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician and astrologer.Patrick Curry: "Culpeper, Nicholas (1616–1654)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004) His boo ...

herbalist (died

1654 Events January–March * January 6– In India, Jaswant Singh of Marwar (in what is now the state of Rajasthan) is elevated to the title of Maharaja by Emperor Shah Jahan. * January 11– In the Battle of Río Bueno in sout ...

) * November 22 –

John Wallis John Wallis (; la, Wallisius; ) was an English clergyman and mathematician who is given partial credit for the development of infinitesimal calculus. Between 1643 and 1689 he served as chief cryptographer for Parliament and, later, the royal ...

, English

who makes important contributions to the development of

algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary a ...

and

analytical geometry In classical mathematics, analytic geometry, also known as coordinate geometry or Cartesian geometry, is the study of geometry using a coordinate system. This contrasts with synthetic geometry. Analytic geometry is used in physics and engineerin ...

(died

1703 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Thursday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 9 – The Jamaican town of Port Royal, a center of trade ...

) * November 23 ''(bapt.)'' –

John Kersey John Kersey the younger ( fl. 1720) was an English philologist and lexicographer of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. He is notable for editing three dictionaries in his lifetime: ''A New English Dictionary'' (1702), a revised ...

, English mathematician (died

1677 Events January–March * January 1 – Jean Racine's tragedy ''Phèdre'' is first performed, in Paris. * January 21 – The first medical publication in America (a pamphlet on smallpox) is produced in Boston. * February 15 ...

) *

Kamalakara Kamalakara (1616 – 1700) was an Indian astronomer and mathematician, came from a learned family of scholars from Golagrāma, a village situated in Maharashtra State near Partha-puri (Pathari) on the northern bank of the river Godāvarī. His ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and mathematician (died

1700 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 19), where then Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 11 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 17 ...

) * ''approx. date'' – John French, English

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

(died

1657 Events January–March * January 8 – Miles Sindercombe and his group of disaffected Levellers are betrayed, in their attempt to assassinate Oliver Cromwell, by blowing up the Palace of Whitehall in London, and arrested. * Febru ...

)

Deaths

* March 3 –

Matthias de l'Obel Mathias de l'Obel, Mathias de Lobel or Matthaeus Lobelius (1538 – 3 March 1616) was a Flemish physician and plant enthusiast who was born in Lille, Flanders, in what is now Hauts-de-France, France, and died at Highgate, London, England. H ...

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

-born physician and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

(born

1538 __NOTOC__ Year 1538 (Roman numerals, MDXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 24 – Treaty of Nagyvárad: Peace is declared bet ...

) * March 19 – Johannes Fabricius, Frisian

(born

1587 Events January–June * February 1 – Queen Elizabeth I of England signs the death warrant of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, after Mary has been implicated in a plot to murder Elizabeth. Seven days later, on the orders of E ...

) * July 25 – Andreas Libavius,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(born

1555 Year 1555 ( MDLV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 22 – The Kingdom of Ava in Upper Burma falls. * February 2 – The Diet o ...

References

{{reflist 17th century in science 1610s in science