1669 in science
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The year 1669 in science and technology involved some significant events.
Astronomy
- February 23 – Isaac Newton writes his first description of his new invention, the reflecting telescope.[1]
- Geminiano Montanari detects the variability of the eclipsing binary Algol.
- Jean Picard begins measurement of 1 degree of Earth's meridian arc in France.
Biology
- Marcello Malpighi publishes Dissertatio Epistolica de Bombyce in London, a study of Bombyx mori which is the first published monograph on an invertebrate.
- Robert Morison publishes Praeludia Botanica, emphasising use of the structure of a plant's fruits for its classification.
- Francis Willughby and John Ray publish "Experiments concerning the motion of sap in trees, made this spring".[2]
- Jan Swammerdam publishes Historia Insectorum Generalis in the Netherlands, explaining the process of metamorphosis in insects.
Chemistry
- Phosphorus is discovered by German alchemist Hennig Brand,[3] the first chemical element to be discovered that was not known since ancient times.[4]
Geology
- Nicolas Steno puts forward his theory that sedimentary strata had been deposited in former seas, and that fossils are organic in origin.[5]
Mathematics
- October 29 – Isaac Newton is appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge.[6]
Physics
- Rasmus Bartholin publishes his observation of the birefringence of a light ray by Iceland spar (calcite).[7]
- Robert Boyle publishes A Continuation of New Experiments Physico-mechanical, Touching the Spring and Weight of the Air, and Their Effects.
Physiology and medicine
- Richard Lower publishes his Tractatus de Corde on the workings of the heart.
- The Chinese traditional herbal medicine company Tong Ren Tang (同仁堂) is established in Beijing by imperial physician Yue Xianyang.
Publications
- Isaac Barrow publishes Lectiones Opticæ et Geometricæ in London.
Births
- May 26 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (died 1722)
Deaths
- April 12 – Abdias Treu, German mathematician (born 1597)
- c. April – Nicasius le Febure, French-born royal chemist, alchemist and apothecary (born 1615)