1706 in science

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The year 1706 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Mathematics

• William Jones publishes Synopsis palmariorum matheseos or, A New Introduction to the Mathematics, Containing the Principles of Arithmetic and Geometry Demonstrated in a Short and Easie Method ... Designed for ... Beginners in which he
  • proposes using the symbol π (the Greek letter pi, as an abbreviation for perimeter) to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
  • introduces John Machin's quickly converging inverse-tangent series for π (pi), enabling it to be computed to 100 decimal places.[1]

Technology

• Francis Hauksbee produces his 'Influence machine' to generate static electricity.[2]

Publications

• Johann Jakob Scheuchzer begins publication in Zürich of his Beschreibung der Naturgeschichten des Schweitzerlands giving an account of the natural history and geology of Switzerland.[3]
• Giovanni Battista Morgagni publishes Adversaria anatomica,[4] the first in a series in which he describes his observations of human anatomy.

Births

• January 17 – Benjamin Franklin, American scientist and inventor, known for his experiments with electricity (died 1790)
• January 28 – John Baskerville, English printer and inventor (died 1775)
• February 11 – Nils Rosén von Rosenstein, Swedish pediatrician (died 1773)
• May 12 – François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix, French physician and botanist (died 1767)
• June 10 – John Dollond, English optician (died 1761)
• December 17 – Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (died 1749)
• Date unknown – Giuseppe Asclepi, Italian astronomer and physicist (died 1776)

Deaths

• June 15 – Giorgio Baglivi, Italian physician (born 1668)
• August 6 – Jean-Baptiste Du Hamel, French scientist, philosophe (born 1624)
• Date unknown – Jean Le Fèvre, French astronomer (born 1652)
• Date unknown – Jeanne Dumée, French astronomer (born 1660)

References

1. O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "1706 in science", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
2. Burke, James (1978). Connections. London: Macmillan. p. 75. ISBN 0-333-24827-9.
3. Volume 1.
4. Online edition: 1762