{{Science year nav, 1687 The year 1687 in

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

involved some significant events.

Astronomy

* The constellation ''

Triangulum Minus Triangulum Minus (Latin for the ''Smaller Triangle'') was a constellation created by Johannes Hevelius. Its name is sometimes wrongly written as Triangulum Min''or''. It was formed from the southern parts of his '' Triangula'' (plural form of ''Tr ...

'' is named by

Johannes Hevelius Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish: * * * * * * * Some sources refer to Hevelius as German: * * * * *of the Royal Society * (in German also known as ''Hevel''; ; – 28 January 1687) was a councillor and mayor of Danz ...

Biology

Alida Withoos Alida Withoos (c. 1661/62 – 5 December 1730 (buried)) was a Dutch botanical artist and painter. She was the daughter of the painter Matthias Withoos. Life Alida Withoos was born in Amersfoort. With three brothers Johannes, Pieter, Frans, and ...

at the house of

Agnes Block Agnes, or Agneta Block (29 October 1629, Emmerich am Rhein – 20 April 1704, Amsterdam) was a Dutch people, Dutch art collector and horticulturalist. She is most remembered as the compiler of an album of flower and insect paintings and as one o ...

makes a painting of the first

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

bred in Europe.

Medicine

* Dutch physician

Willem ten Rhijne Willem ten Rhijne (1647, Deventer – 1 June 1700, Batavia) was a Dutch doctor and botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plan ...

publishes ''Verhandelinge van de Asiatise Melaatsheid na een naaukeuriger ondersoek ten dienste van het gemeen'' in Amsterdam, explaining Asian

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

to the West.

Physics

* July 5 –

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

's ''

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (English: ''The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy''), often referred to as simply the (), is a book by Isaac Newton that expounds Newton's laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation. The ''Principia'' is written in Lati ...

'', known as the ''Principia'', is published by the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In it, Newton describes his theory of

universal gravitation Newton's law of universal gravitation describes gravity as a force by stating that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is Proportionality (mathematics)#Direct proportionality, proportional to the product ...

, explains the laws of

mechanics Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...

(including

Newton's laws of motion Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. These laws, which provide the basis for Newtonian mechanics, can be paraphrased as follows: # A body re ...

), gives a formula for the

speed of sound The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elasticity (solid mechanics), elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At , the speed of sound in a ...

and demonstrates that Earth is an oblate spheroid. The concepts in the ''Principia'' become the foundations of modern

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Births

* October 14 –

Robert Simson Robert Simson (14 October 1687 – 1 October 1768) was a Scottish mathematician and professor of mathematics at the University of Glasgow. The Simson line is named after him.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 ...

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 ...

(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 Re ...

Deaths

* January 28 –

, German

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

(born

1611 Events January–March * January 26 – Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully is forced by Queen regent Marie's Regency Council to resign as chief minister of France. He is replaced by Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Vill ...

). 17th century in science 1680s in science