Significant Events in Science and Technology in 1693
The year 1693 saw notable advancements in various fields of science and technology.
Actuarial Science
In a groundbreaking publication in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, mathematician Edmond Halley presented an article on life annuities. This work featured a life table that was constructed using statistical data from Breslau, provided by the statistician Caspar Neumann.
Botany
Another significant publication occurred with the release of Charles Plumier’s first work titled Description des plantes de l’Amérique. This book, published in Paris, focused primarily on ferns and marked an important contribution to botanical literature.
Mathematics
The posthumous release of Bernard Frénicle de Bessy’s treatise, Des quarrez ou tables magiques, added to the mathematical canon by describing all 880 essentially different normal magic squares of order 4.
Physiology and Medicine
In the field of anatomy, Philip Verheyen, a Flemish anatomist, made a notable contribution with his widely utilized text Corporis Humani Anatomia, where he became the first to formally identify the structure known as the Achilles tendon.
Births
- March – Birth of James Bradley, who would later serve as the Astronomer Royal until his death in 1762.
Deaths
- February 18 – Death of Elias Tillandz, a Swedish physician and botanist in Finland (born 1640).
- October 4 – Passing of Sir Thomas Clayton, an English physician, academic, and politician (born circa 1612).
- December 22 – Death of Elisabeth Hevelius, a Danzig astronomer (born 1647).
References
This summary encapsulates the key events in science and technology for the year 1693, reflecting the era’s contributions to our understanding of various disciplines.