1614 in science

The year 1614 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Exploration

• July – Dutch merchant Adriaen Block returns to Amsterdam having, in the Onrust , having become the first European to enter Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River, and determined that Long Island is an island. ^[1] He publishes a map of New Netherland.

Mathematics

• Scottish mathematician John Napier publishes Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio ("Description of the Admirable Table of Logarithms"), outlining his discovery of logarithms and incorporating the decimal mark. ^[2] Astronomer Johannes Kepler soon begins to employ logarithms in his description of the Solar System.

Medicine

• Felix Plater gives a description of Dupuytren's contracture. ^[3]
• Sanctorius publishes De statica medicina, which will go through five editions in the following century.

Births

• February 14 – Bishop John Wilkins, English natural philosopher, co-founder of the Royal Society (died 1672)

Deaths

• July 28 – Felix Plater, Swiss physician (born 1536)
• Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, Portuguese-born navigator (born 1565)
• William Lee, English-born inventor (born c. 1563)

References

1. Bancroft, George (1886). History of the United States of America: from the discovery of the Continent. Vol. 1. p. 489.
2. Napier, John (1614). The Description of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms (PDF). Translated by Wright, Edward; Bruce, Ian. 17centurymaths.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
3. Belusa, L.; Selzer, A.M.; Partecke, B.D. (1995). "Description of Dupuytren disease by the Basel physician and anatomist Felix Plater in 1614". Handchirurgie, Mikrochirurgie, plastische Chirurgie. 27 (5): 272–5. PMID   7498844.