The year 1608 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.
Technology
* October 2 –
Hans Lippershey demonstrates the first known
telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
to the government of the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
.
* The flintlock
muzzleloader
A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) design ...
is invented; unlike most weapon systems which only lasted a few decades, the flintlock has a long-term impact.
* The manufacture of
alum
An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , where is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium or a ...
is invented and successfully practised in England, under the patronage of
King James, by Lord Sheffield.
Zoology
*
Edward Topsell
Edward Topsell (''circa'' 1572 – 1625) was an English cleric and author best remembered for his bestiary.
Topsell was born and educated in Sevenoaks, Kent. He attended Christ's College, Cambridge, earned his B.A. and probably an M.A., as well, ...
's
bestiary
A bestiary (from ''bestiarum vocabulum'') is a compendium of beasts. Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals and even rocks. The natural history a ...
''The Historie of Serpents'' is published in London by
William Jaggard
William Jaggard ( – November 1623) was an Elizabethan and Jacobean printer and publisher, best known for his connection with the texts of William Shakespeare, most notably the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays. Jaggard's shop was "at t ...
.
Births
* January 28 –
Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian scientist (died
1679
Events
January–June
* January 24 – King Charles II of England dissolves the "Cavalier Parliament", after nearly 18 years.
* February 3 – Moroccan troops from Fez are killed, along with their commander Moussa ben Ahmed be ...
)
* August 4 –
John Tradescant the younger, English botanist (died
1662
Events
January–March
* January 4 – Dziaddin Mukarram Shah becomes the new Sultan of Kedah, an independent kingdom on the Malay Peninsula, upon the death of his father, Sultan Muhyiddin Mansur.
* January 10 – At the ...
)
* October 15 –
Evangelista Torricelli
Evangelista Torricelli ( , also , ; 15 October 160825 October 1647) was an Italian physicist and mathematician, and a student of Galileo. He is best known for his invention of the barometer, but is also known for his advances in optics and work o ...
, Italian physicist and mathematician (died
1647
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Chinese bandit leader Zhang Xianzhong, who has ruled the Sichuan province since 1644, is killed at Xichong by a Qing archer after having been betrayed one of his officers, Liu Jinzhong.
...
)
Deaths
* December –
Oswald Croll, German chemist and physician (born c1560)
References
{{reflist
17th century in science
1600s in science