The year 1720 in
science and
technology involved some significant events.
Astronomy
* February 10 –
Edmond Halley is appointed as
Astronomer Royal of England.
Medicine
* May – First patient admitted to the Westminster Public Infirmary, predecessor of
St George's Hospital
St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...
, London.
*
Dr Steevens' Hospital is established at
Kilmainham,
Dublin.
*
Great Plague of Marseille
The Great Plague of Marseille was the last major outbreak of bubonic plague in Western Europe. Arriving in Marseille, France, in 1720, the disease killed a total of 100,000 people: 50,000 in the city during the next two years and another 50,000 t ...
, the last major outbreak of
bubonic plague
Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
in
Europe.
Physics
*
Willem 's Gravesande publishes ''Physices elementa mathematica, experimentis confirmata, sive introductio ad philosophiam Newtonianam'', an introduction to
Newtonian physics, in
Leiden.
Technology
* A
theodolite is developed by
Jonathan Sisson of England.
*
Pinchbeck is invented by
English watchmaker
Christopher Pinchbeck; it is an
alloy of 83%
copper and 17%
zinc, creating a strong, hard-wearing metal which has the appearance and weight of 20
carat gold.
* An early
chronograph is invented which has only mechanical parts in it.
* Henry de Saumarez (of the
Channel Islands) produces an instrument called the ''Marine Surveyor'' intended to measure a ship's
velocity.
* A single-action five-
pedal harp is developed by
Jacob Hochbrucker of
Bavaria which can raise the pitch of the selected strings by a half step.
* ''approx. date'' – Joseph Williamson uses a
differential gear in a clock.
Births
* January 30 –
Charles De Geer,
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 ...
industrialist and
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
(died
1778
Events
January–March
* January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...
)
* March 13 –
Charles Bonnet,
Genevan naturalist and philosophical writer (died
1793
The French Republic introduced the French Revolutionary Calendar starting with the year I.
Events
January–June
* January 7 – The Ebel riot occurs in Sweden.
* January 9 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first to fl ...
)
* July 18 –
Gilbert White,
English naturalist (died 1793)
*
October 8 –
Geneviève Thiroux d'Arconville
Marie Geneviève Charlotte Thiroux d'Arconville (''née'' Darlus, also known as la présidente Thiroux d’Arconville and Geneviève Thiroux d'Arconville) (17 October 1720 – 23 December 1805), was a French novelist, translator and chemist who is ...
, French novelist, translator and chemist (d.
1805
After thirteen years the First French Empire abolished the French Republican Calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 11 – The Michigan Territory is created.
* February 7 – King Anouvong become ...
)
* November 5 -
Jean Baptiste Christophore Fusée Aublet, French pharmacist and botanist (died
1778
Events
January–March
* January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...
)
* December ? –
James Hargreaves, English inventor (died
1778
Events
January–March
* January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...
)
* ''approx. date'' –
Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov
Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov (russian: Дмитрий Иванович Виноградов; 1720 – ) was a Russian chemist who developed Russian hard-paste porcelain; he was the founder of the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
Vinogradov was b ...
,
Russian
chemist and (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 ...
)
Deaths
* December 29 –
Maria Margarethe Kirch
Maria Margaretha Kirch (''née'' Winckelmann, in historic sources named Maria Margaretha Kirchin; 25 February 1670 – 29 December 1720) was a German astronomer. She was one of the first famous astronomers of her period due to her writing on ...
, German astronomer (born
1670
Events
January–March
* January 17 – Raphael Levy, a Jewish resident of the city of Metz in France is burned at the stake after having been accused of the September 25 abduction and ritual murder of a small child who had disa ...
)
*
David Gregory,
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 ...
physician and inventor (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 – ...
)
References
{{reflist
18th century in science
1720s in science