The year 1621 in

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

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, scie ...

involved some significant events.

Astronomy

Johann Schreck Johann(es) Schreck, also Terrenz or Terrentius Constantiensis, Deng Yuhan Hanpo 鄧玉函, Deng Zhen Lohan, (1576, Bingen, Baden-Württemberg or Constance – 11 May 1630, Beijing) was a German Jesuit, missionary to China and polymath. He i ...

(

1576 Year 1576 ( MDLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 20 – Viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza founds the settlement of León, ...

– 1630), also known as Johannes Schreck, Terrenz or Terrentius, introduces the

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 obse ...

to China.

Botany

* The

University of Oxford Botanic Garden The University of Oxford Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world. The garden was founded in 1621 as a physic garden growing plants for medicinal research. Today it conta ...

, the oldest

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, is founded as a

physic garden A physic garden is a type of herb garden with medicinal plants. Botanical gardens developed from them. History Modern botanical gardens were preceded by medieval physic gardens, often monastic gardens, that existed by 800 at least. Gardens of ...

Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby, KG (28 June 1573 – 20 January 1643/4) was an English soldier. Outlawed after a killing, he regained favour and became a Knight of the Garter. Life He was the second son of Sir John Danvers, Knt., of Daun ...

Medicine

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, who wrote the encyclopedic tome ''The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Burto ...

publishes his treatise ''

The Anatomy of Melancholy ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'' (full title: ''The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Ph ...

''.

Physics

Willebrord Snellius Willebrord Snellius (born Willebrord Snel van Royen) (13 June 158030 October 1626) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, Snell. His name is usually associated with the law of refraction of light known as Snell's law. The lunar crater S ...

formulates

Snell's law Snell's law (also known as Snell–Descartes law and ibn-Sahl law and the law of refraction) is a formula used to describe the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction, when referring to light or other waves passing through ...

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomen ...

Technology

* A simple

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisibl ...

is developed. *

Cornelius Vermuyden Sir Cornelius Vermuyden ( Sint-Maartensdijk, 1595 – London, 11 October 1677) was a Dutch engineer who introduced Dutch land reclamation methods to England. Vermuyden was commissioned by the Crown to drain Hatfield Chase in the Isle of Axholme ...

begins reclamation of

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ( ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Births

* January 27 –

Thomas Willis Thomas Willis FRS (27 January 1621 – 11 November 1675) was an English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry, and was a founding member of the Royal Society. Life Willis was born on his pare ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

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 ...

who contributes to knowledge of the nervous and

cardiovascular system The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

s (died

1675 Events January–March * January 5 – Franco-Dutch War – Battle of Turckheim: The French defeat Austria and Brandenburg. * January 29 – John Sassamon, an English-educated Native American Christian, dies at Ass ...

)

Deaths

* July 2 –

Thomas Harriot Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his co ...

, English

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

and

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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

(born c.

1560 Year 1560 ( MDLX) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 7 – In the Kingdom of Scotland, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and ...

) * September 1 –

Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī Bahāʾ al‐Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al‐ʿĀmilī (also known as Sheikh Baha'i, fa, شیخ بهایی) (18 February 1547 – 1 September 1621) was an Iranian ArabEncyclopedia of Arabic Literature'. Taylor & Francis; 1998. . p. 85. Sh ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

philosopher and astronomer (born

1547 Year 1547 ( MDXLVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 8 – The first Lithuanian-language book, a '' Catechism'' (, Simple Words ...

) * Jan Jesenius, Slovak physician (born

1566 __NOTOC__ Year 1566 ( MDLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 7 – Pope Pius V succeeds Pope Pius IV, as the 225th pope. * Fe ...

)

References

{{reflist 17th century in science 1620s in science