The year 1679 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.

Botany

* Establishment of

Hortus Botanicus (Amsterdam) Hortus Botanicus is a botanical garden in the Plantage district of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is one of the world's oldest botanical gardens. History The Amsterdam city council founded the ''Hortus Botanicus'' (initially named the ''Hor ...

Mathematics

Samuel Morland Sir Samuel Morland, 1st Baronet (1625 – 30 December 1695), or Moreland, was an English academic, diplomat, spy, inventor and mathematician of the 17th century, a polymath credited with early developments in relation to computing, hydraulics and ...

publishes ''The Doctrine of Interest, both Simple & Compound'', probably the first tables produced with the aid of a

calculating machine A mechanical calculator, or calculating machine, is a mechanical device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic automatically, or (historically) a simulation such as an analog computer or a slide rule. Most mechanical calculators wer ...

Medicine

Great Plague of Vienna The Great Plague of Vienna occurred in 1679 in Vienna, Austria, the imperial residence of the Austrian Habsburg rulers. From contemporary descriptions, the disease is believed to have been bubonic plague, which is caused by the bacterium ''Yersin ...

. *

Franciscus Sylvius Franciscus Sylvius (15 March 1614 – 19 November 1672), born Franz de le Boë, was a Dutch physician and scientist (chemist, physiologist and anatomist) who was an early champion of Descartes', Van Helmont's and William Harvey's work and ...

' ''Opera Medica'', published posthumously, recognizes scrofula and phthisis as forms of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

Technology

Pierre-Paul Riquet Stele in Toulouse Cathedral Pierre-Paul Riquet, Baron de Bonrepos (29 June 1609 (some sources say 1604) – 4 October 1680) was the engineer and canal-builder responsible for the construction of the Canal du Midi. Background Paul Riquet was b ...

excavates

Malpas Tunnel The Malpas tunnel carries the Canal du Midi under the d'Ensérune hill in Hérault, France. Excavated in 1679, it was Europe's first navigable canal tunnel and is a monument to the determination of Pierre-Paul Riquet, the chief engineer. It is lo ...

on the

Canal du Midi The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (french: le Midi). Originally named the ''Canal royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is considere ...

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

of the first of

Edme Mariotte Edme Mariotte (; ; c. 162012 May 1684) was a French physicist and priest ( abbé). He is particularly well known for formulating Boyle's law independently of Robert Boyle. Mariotte is also credited with designing the first Newton's cradle. Biogr ...

's ''Essays de physique'': ''De la végétation des plantes'', a pioneering discussion of

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Closely related fields include plant morphology (structure of plants), plant ecology (interactions with the environment), phytochemistry (bi ...

; and ''De la nature de l'air'', a statement of

Boyle's law Boyle's law, also referred to as the Boyle–Mariotte law, or Mariotte's law (especially in France), is an experimental gas law that describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a confined gas. Boyle's law has been stated as: The ...

. * Publication by the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histor ...

of the world's first national

ephemeris In astronomy and celestial navigation, an ephemeris (pl. ephemerides; ) is a book with tables that gives the trajectory of naturally occurring astronomical objects as well as artificial satellites in the sky, i.e., the position (and possibly vel ...

almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and other ...

, the '' Connaissance des tems'', compiled by

Jean Picard Jean Picard (21 July 1620 – 12 July 1682) was a French astronomer and priest born in La Flèche, where he studied at the Jesuit Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand. He is principally notable for his accurate measure of the size of the Earth, base ...

Births

* January 2 -

Pierre Fauchard Pierre Fauchard (January 2, 1679 – March 21, 1761) was a French physician, credited as being the "father of modern dentistry". He is widely known for writing the first complete scientific description of dentistry, ''Le Chirurgien Dentiste'' (''" ...

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 ...

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 ...

(died

1761 Events January–March * January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, and restore the Mughal Empire to Shah Alam II. * January 16 – Siege of Pondi ...

). * January 24 – Christian Wolff,

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 ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

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 ...

and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

(died

1754 Events January–March * January 28 – Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word ''serendipity''. * February 22 – Expecting an attack by Portuguese-speaking militias in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Pla ...

)

Deaths

* January 14 –

Jacques de Billy : ''For the English patristic scholar and Benedictine abbot, see Jacques de Billy (abbot) (1535–1581).'' Jacques de Billy (March 18, 1602 – January 14, 1679) was a French Jesuit mathematician. Born in Compiègne, he subsequently entere ...

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

mathematician (born

1602 Events January–June * January 3 – Battle of Kinsale: The English defeat Irish rebels and their Spanish allies. (The battle happens on this date according to the Gregorian calendar used by the Irish and Spanish but on Thursday, 24 Dec ...

)

References

{{reflist 17th century in science 1670s in science