The year 1683 in
science and
technology involved some significant events.
Geography
*
Vincenzo Coronelli completes terrestrial and celestial globes for
Louis XIV of France.
Biology
* September 17 –
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...
writes a letter to the
Royal Society of London describing "
animalcules" – the first known description of
protozoa
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...
.
Mathematics
* Based on his discovery of the
resultant,
Seki Takakazu starts to develop
elimination theory in the ''Kai-fukudai-no-hō'' (解伏題之法,); and to express the resultant, he develops the notion of the
determinant.
*
Jacob Bernoulli discovers the mathematical constant ''
e''.
Medicine
* Dutch physician
Willem ten Rhijne publishes ''Dissertatio de Arthritide: Mantissa Schematica: De Acupunctura'' in London, introducing the West to
acupuncture and
moxibustion.
Technology
*
Vauban's manual on
fortification, ''Le Directeur-Général des fortifications'', begins publication at
The Hague.
Institutions
* May 24 – The
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...
opens in
Broad Street, Oxford (England) as the world's first purpose-built university museum, including accommodation for the teaching of natural philosophy and a chemistry laboratory. Naturalist Dr.
Robert Plot is the first keeper and first professor of chemistry.
* October 15 – First meeting of the
Dublin Philosophical Society
The Dublin Philosophical Society was founded in 1683 by William Molyneux with the assistance of his brother Sir Thomas Molyneux and the future Provost and Bishop St George Ashe. It was intended to be the equivalent of the Royal Society in Lond ...
, established by
William Molyneux.
Births
* February 28 –
Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur,
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 ...
physicist (died
1757
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Seven Years' War: The British Army, under the command of Robert Clive, captures Calcutta, India.
* January 5 – Robert-François Damiens makes an unsuccessful assassination attempt ...
)
* December 23 –
François Nicole
François Nicole (23 December 1683 – 18 January 1758) was a French mathematician, born in Paris and died there, who published his ''Traité du calcul des différences finies'' in 1717; it contains rules both for forming differences and for effect ...
, French
mathematician (died
1758
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...
)
* Approximate date
**
Giovanni Poleni,
Italian mathematician and physicist (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 ...
)
**
Edmund Weaver,
English astronomer (died
1748
Events
January–March
* January 12 – Ahmad Shah Durrani captures Lahore.
* January 27 – A fire at the prison and barracks at Kinsale, in Ireland, kills 54 of the prisoners of war housed there. An estimated 500 prison ...
)
Deaths
* May 2 –
Stjepan Gradić
Stjepan Gradić, also known as Stefano Gradi (Latin: Stephanus Gradius; 6 March 1613 – 2 May 1683) was a philosopher, scientist and a patrician of the Republic of Ragusa.
Biography
Stijepo's parents were Miho Gradi (Gradić) and Marija Benessa ...
,
Ragusan
polymath (born
1613
Events
January–June
* January 11 – Workers in a sandpit in the Dauphiné region of France discover the skeleton of what is alleged to be a 30-foot tall man (the remains, it is supposed, of the giant Teutobochus, a legendary ...
)
* November 10
**
John Collins John Collins may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John Collins (poet) (1742–1808), English orator, singer, and poet
* John Churton Collins (1848–1908), English literary critic
* John H. Collins (director) (1889–1918), American director an ...
,
English mathematician (born
1625
Events
January–March
* January 17 – Led by the Duke of Soubise, the Huguenots launch a second rebellion against King Louis XIII, with a surprise naval assault on a French fleet being prepared in Blavet.
* February 3 – ...
)
**
Robert Morison,
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
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
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 ...
)
References
{{reflist
17th century in science
1680s in science