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The year 1688 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, ...
included a number of events, some of which are listed here.


Astronomy

* The
constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...
'' Sceptrum Brandenburgicum'' is named by
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 ...
.


Exploration

* A
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 ...
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
scientific mission led by
Jean de Fontaney Jean de Fontaney (1643–1710) was a French Jesuit who led a mission to China in 1687.Mungello, p. 329 Jean de Fontaney had been a teacher of mathematics and astronomy at the College Louis le Grand. He was asked by king Louis XIV to set up a miss ...
arrives in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.


Mathematics

* Simon de la Loubère introduces the
Siamese method The Siamese method, or De la Loubère method, is a simple method to construct any size of ''n''-odd magic squares (i.e. number squares in which the sums of all rows, columns and diagonals are identical). The method was brought to France in 1688 by ...
for constructing any size of ''n''-odd
magic square In recreational mathematics, a square array of numbers, usually positive integers, is called a magic square if the sums of the numbers in each row, each column, and both main diagonals are the same. The 'order' of the magic square is the number ...
to Western Europe.


Technology

* Earliest known mention of the balalaika.


Births

* January 29 – Emanuel Swedenborg,
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
scientist and theologian (died
1772 Events January–March * January 10 – Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor of India, makes a triumphant return to Delhi 15 years after having been forced to flee. * January 17 – Johann Friedrich Struensee and Queen Carolin ...
) * April 4 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle,
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 ...
astronomer (died
1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...
) * August 14 –
Johann Leonhard Rost Johann Leonhard Rost (12 February 1688 – 22 March 1727) was a German astronomer and author from Nuremberg. He wrote under the alias Meletaon. The crater Rost on the Moon is named after him. His brother Johannes Carolus Rost was a famous d ...
,
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
1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...
) * September 26 – Willem 's Gravesande, Dutch polymath (died
1742 Events January–March * January 9 – Robert Walpole is made Earl of Orford, and resigns as First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, effectively ending his period as Prime Minister of Great Britain. On his for ...
) * November 15 – Louis Bertrand Castel, French Jesuit mathematician and 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 ...
)


Deaths

* January 28 –
Ferdinand Verbiest Father Ferdinand Verbiest (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in the County of Flanders (now part of Belgium). He is known as Nan Huairen () in Chi ...
, Flemish Jesuit astronomer in China (born
1623 Events January–March * January 21 – **Viscount Falkland, England's Lord Deputy of Ireland, issues a proclamation ordering all Roman Catholic priests to leave Ireland. The order frustrates negotiations between Protestant En ...
) * October 9 –
Claude Perrault Claude Perrault (25 September 1613 – 9 October 1688) was a French physician and an amateur architect, best known for his participation in the design of the east façade of the Louvre in Paris.architect and physicist (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 11 – Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, French horticulturalist (born
1626 Events January–March * January 7 – Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army. * January 9 – Peter Minuit sails from Texel Island for America's Ne ...
)


References

{{reflist 17th century in science 1680s in science