The year 1739 in
science and
technology involved some significant events.
Earth sciences
*
Plinian eruption of
Mount Tarumae volcano in Japan.
Exploration
* January 1 –
Bouvet Island is discovered by
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 ...
explorer
Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier in the South
Atlantic Ocean.
Mathematics
*
Leonhard Euler solves the general homogeneous linear ordinary differential equation with constant coefficients.
* Euler invents the
tonnetz (German for "tone-network"), a conceptual
lattice diagram
A diagram is a symbolic representation of information using visualization techniques. Diagrams have been used since prehistoric times on walls of caves, but became more prevalent during the Enlightenment. Sometimes, the technique uses a three- ...
that shows a two-dimensional tonal
pitch space created by the network of relationships between
musical pitches in
just intonation
In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals
Interval may refer to:
Mathematics and physics
* Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers
** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to ...
.
Physics
*
Émilie du Châtelet
Gabrielle Émilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Châtelet (; 17 December 1706 – 10 September 1749) was a French natural philosopher and mathematician from the early 1730s until her death due to complications during childbirth in 1749. ...
publishes ''Dissertation sur la nature et la propagation du feu''.
Awards
*
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
:
Stephen Hales
Societies
* June 2 – The
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
is founded in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
by
Linnaeus,
MÃ¥rten Triewald and others.
Births
* November 14 –
William Hewson, English surgeon, anatomist and physiologist, "father of haematology" (died
1774
Events
January–March
* January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I.
* January 27
** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and f ...
)
* December 14 –
Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours
Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours ( or ; ; 14 December 1739 – 7 August 1817) was a French-American writer, economist, publisher and government official. During the French Revolution, he, his two sons and their families immigrated to the Uni ...
, French
industrialist
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
(died
1817
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Sailing through the Sandwich Islands, Otto von Kotzebue discovers New Year Island.
* January 19 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San MartÃn, starts crossing the ...
)
*
Israel Lyons, English mathematician and botanist (died
1775
Events
Summary
The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...
)
Deaths
* April 19 –
Nicholas Saunderson, English scientist and mathematician (born
1682
Events
January–March
* January 7 – The Republic of Genoa forbids the unauthorized printing of newspapers and all handwritten newssheets; the ban is lifted after three months.
* January 12 – Scottish minister James Ren ...
)
* April 27 –
Nicolas Sarrabat, French scientist, astronomer and mathematician (born
1698
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Abenaki tribe and Massachusetts colonists sign a treaty, ending the conflict in New England.
* January 4 – The Palace of Whitehall in London, England is destroyed by fire.
* January 23 – G ...
)
References
{{Reflist
18th century in science
1730s in science