The year 1639 in science and technology involved some significant events. Horrocks Venus in sole

Astronomy

* Giovanni Battista Zupi observes that the planet

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

has orbital phases. * December 4 (November 24 in Julian calendar) – English astronomers Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree are the first and only scientific observers of a transit of Venus, predicted by Horrocks.

Exploration

* The

Casiquiare canal The Casiquiare river () is a distributary of the upper Orinoco flowing southward into the Rio Negro, in Venezuela, South America. As such, it forms a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the world's largest r ...

, a river forming a natural canal between the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

and Orinoco River basins, is first encountered by Europeans

Mathematics

* Girard Desargues introduces the concept of

infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

into geometry.

Births

* April 12 – Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician (died

1712 In the Swedish calendar it began as a leap year starting on Monday and remained so until Thursday, February 29. By adding a second leap day (Friday, February 30) Sweden reverted to the Julian calendar and the rest of the year (from Saturday, M ...

) * December 18 –

Gottfried Kirch Gottfried Kirch (; also KircheKenneth Glyn Jones, ''The Search for the Nebulae'', Alpha Academic, 1975, p. 19. , Kirkius; 18 December 1639 – 25 July 1710) was a German astronomer and the first "Astronomer Royal" in Berlin and, as such, directo ...

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 ...

astronomer (died

1710 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Saturday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin b ...

) * ''approx. date'' – Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

explorer (died

)

Deaths

* June 6 – Peter Crüger, German polymath (born

1580 __NOTOC__ Events January–June * January 31 – Portuguese succession crisis of 1580: The death of Henry, King of Portugal, with no direct heirs, leads to conflict between his potential successors, including King Philip II of ...

) * August 7 –

Martin van den Hove Martin (Maarten) van den Hove (Latinized as Martinus Hortensius (Ortensius)) (1605 – 7 August 1639) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician. His adopted Latin name is a translation of the Dutch ''hof'' ("garden"), in Latin ''horta''. Early li ...

, Dutch astronomer (born

1605 Events January–June * January 16 – The first part of Miguel de Cervantes' satire on the theme of chivalry, ''Don Quixote'' (''El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha'', "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha"), is publ ...

) * Mutio Oddi, Italian mathematician (born

1569 Year 1569 ( MDLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 11–May 6 – The first recorded lottery in England is performed nonstop, at the we ...

)

References

{{reflist 17th century in science 1630s in science