The year 1754 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
*
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, postulates retardation of
Earth's orbit
Earth orbits the Sun at an astronomical unit, average distance of , or 8.317 light-second, light-minutes, in a retrograde and prograde motion, counterclockwise direction as viewed from above the Northern Hemisphere. One complete orbit takes & ...
.
Chemistry
*
Joseph Black
Joseph Black (16 April 1728 – 6 December 1799) was a British physicist and chemist, known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat, specific heat, and carbon dioxide. He was Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at the University of Glasgow ...
,
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 ...
chemist, discovers
carbonic acid gas
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at normally-encounter ...
.
Earth sciences
*
Albert Brahms,
Frisia
Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...
n
Dijkgraaf, begins publication of ''Anfangsgründe der Deich und Wasser-Baukunst'' ("Principles of Dike and Aquatic Engineering") advocating scientific recording of
tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables ...
s.
Mathematics
*
Joshua Kirby
Joshua Kirby (1716 – 1774), often mistakenly called John Joshua Kirby, was an English 18th-century landscape painter, engraver, writer, draughtsman and architect famed for his publications and teaching on linear perspective based on Brook T ...
publishes the pamphlet ''Dr. Brook Taylor's Method of Perspective made Easy both in Theory and Practice'' containing
William Hogarth
William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...
's ''
Satire on False Perspective''.
*
Lagrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange (born Giuseppe Luigi Lagrangia[tautochrone
A tautochrone curve or isochrone curve () is the curve for which the time taken by an object sliding without friction in uniform gravity to its lowest point is independent of its starting point on the curve. The curve is a cycloid, and the time ...](_blank)
.
Physics
*
Václav Prokop Diviš,
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
theologian and natural scientist in the fields of applied electricity, develops a weather-machine. The same year, an electrical conductor devised by him is installed at the
Vienna General Hospital
The Vienna General Hospital (), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital in Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical University of Vienna. It is Europe's fifth largest hospital, b ...
.
Awards
*
Copley Medal
The Copley Medal is the most prestigious award of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, conferred "for sustained, outstanding achievements in any field of science". The award alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the bio ...
:
William Lewis
Births
* March 4 –
Benjamin Waterhouse
Benjamin Waterhouse (March 4, 1754 – October 2, 1846) was a physician, co-founder and professor of Harvard Medical School. He is most well known for being the first doctor to test the smallpox vaccine in the United States, which he carried ou ...
,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
(died
1846
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom.
* January 13 – The Milan–Venice railway's bridge, over the Venetian Lagoon betwee ...
)
* March 15 –
Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies ( ; 15 March 1754 – 15 February 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. He spent many years at sea, serving with the Royal Navy, private merchants, and the Vancouver Expedition.
During his naval expeditions, h ...
,
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 ...
surgeon and
botanist
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
(died
1842
Events
January–March
* January 6– 13 – First Anglo-Afghan War – Massacre of Elphinstone's army (Battle of Gandamak): British East India Company troops are destroyed by Afghan forces on the road from Kabul to Jalalabad, Afghan ...
)
* March 23 –
Jurij Vega
Baron Jurij Bartolomej Vega (also spelled Veha; ; ; born Vehovec, March 23, 1754 – September 26, 1802) was a Slovene mathematician, physicist, and artillery commissioned officer.
Early life
Born into a farmer's family in the small village o ...
,
Slovene mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (died
1802
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, begins removal of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, claiming they are at risk of destruction during the Ott ...
)
* May 6 –
Thomas Coke,
English agriculturalist
An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...
and
geneticist
A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...
(died 1842)
* June 4 –
Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach
Baron Franz Xaver von Zach (''Franz Xaver Freiherr von Zach''; 4 June 1754 – 2 September 1832) was an Austrian astronomer born at Pest, Hungary (now Budapest in Hungary).
Biography
Zach studied physics at the Royal University of Pest, and ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
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 ...
(died
1832
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society.
* January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white pla ...
)
* August 21 –
William Murdoch
William Murdoch (sometimes spelled Murdock) (21 August 1754 – 15 November 1839) was a Scottish chemist, inventor, and mechanical engineer.
Murdoch was employed by the firm of Boulton & Watt and worked for them in Cornwall, as a steam engin ...
, Scottish engineer and
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
(died
1839
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The first photograph of the Moon is taken, by French photographer Louis Daguerre.
* January 6 – Night of the Big Wind: Ireland is struck by the most damaging cyclone in 300 years.
* January 9 – ...
)
* September 26 –
Joseph Proust
Joseph Louis Proust (26 September 1754 – 5 July 1826) was a French people, French chemist. He was best known for his discovery of the law of definite proportions in 1797, stating that chemical compounds always combine in constant proportions.
...
,
French chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
(died
1826
Events January–March
* January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a satirical weekly.
* January 17 – The Ballantyne printing business in Edinburgh (Scotland) crashes, ruining noveli ...
)
Deaths
* February 5 –
Nicolaas Kruik
Nicolaas Samuelszoon Kruik (; 2 December 1678 West-Vlieland – 5 February 1754 Spaarndam), also known as Nicolaes Krukius, was a Dutch surveyor, cartographer, astronomer and weather observer.
Cruquius took temperature measurements in Fahrenheit ...
(Cruquius),
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
cartographer
Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
and
meteorologist
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...
(born
1678
Events
January–March
* January 10 – England and the Dutch Republic sign a mutual defense treaty in order to fight against France.
* January 27 – The first fire engine company in North America goes into service in Boston. ...
)
* February 16 –
Richard Mead
Richard Mead, FRSFRCP (11 August 1673 – 16 February 1754) was an English physician. His work, ''A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential Contagion, and the Method to be used to prevent it'' (1720), was of historic importance in advancing t ...
, English physician (born
1673
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Impersonator Mary Carleton is hanging, hanged at Newgate Prison in London, for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation.
* February 10 – Molière's ''comédie-ballet ...
)
* April 9 –
Christian Wolff,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
philosopher
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
,
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 ...
and
scientist
A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...
(born
1679)
* April 15 –
Jacopo Riccati
Jacopo Francesco Riccati (28 May 1676 – 15 April 1754) was a Venetian mathematician and jurist from Venice. He is best known for having studied the equation that bears his name.
Education
Riccati was educated first at the Jesuit school for th ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
mathematician (born
1676
Events
January–March
* January 29 – Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
* January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is f ...
)
* November 27 –
Abraham de Moivre
Abraham de Moivre FRS (; 26 May 166727 November 1754) was a French mathematician known for de Moivre's formula, a formula that links complex numbers and trigonometry, and for his work on the normal distribution and probability theory.
He move ...
,
French mathematician (born
1667
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's derelic ...
)
References
{{reflist
18th century in science
1750s in science