1769 in science
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The year 1769 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.
Astronomy
- March 4 – Messier42).
- June 3 – Transit of Venus is observed from many places in order to obtain data for measuring the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Those taking part include
- Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche at San José del Cabo, Baja California
- James Cook and Charles Green on Tahiti
- North Cape
- Maximilian Hell and János Sajnovics in Vardø, Norway
- but was turned away by the local Spanish colonial governor. The weather in Pondicherry is cloudy that day. Le Gentil had also missed the 1761 transit through bad luck.
- Alexandre Guy Pingré in Haiti
- William Wales and Joseph Dymond at Prince of Wales Fort on Hudson Bay
- Anders Johan Lexell and Christian Mayer in Saint Petersburg; with other members of Russian Academy of Sciences at eight other locations in the Russian Empire
- Members of the American Philosophical Society at three locations
The transit is followed five hours later by a total solar eclipse visible from Britain.
- November 9 – Transit of Mercury. James Cook observes this from Mercury Bay in New Zealand.
- Pluto's 8th complete orbit around the Sun from its present-day position
Chemistry
- Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovers a method of mass-producing phosphorus.
- Approximate date – Britannia metal is first produced, in Sheffield, England.[1]
Technology
- April 29 – James Watt is granted a British patent for "A method of lessening the consumption of steam in steam engines" – the separate condenser,[2] a key improvement (first devised by Watt in 1765) which stimulates the Industrial Revolution.[3] In September he completes a full-size experimental engine at Kinneil House in Scotland.
- July 3 – Richard Arkwright is granted a British patent for a water-powered spinning frame able to spin thread mechanically.[4]
- October 23 –
- Wolfgang von Kempelen begins development of his speaking machine.
Exploration
- March 16 – La Boudeuse and Étoile, with the loss of only seven out of 330 men.
Awards
Births
- January 1
- Marie-Louise Lachapelle, French midwife (died 1821)
- Jane Marcet, née Haldimand, English popular science writer (died 1858)
- March 23 – William Smith, English geologist (died 1839)
- March 29 – Friedrich Accum, German chemist (died 1838)
- April 25 – Marc Isambard Brunel, French-born engineer (died 1849)
- August 23 – Georges Cuvier, French zoologist (died 1832)
- September 14 – Alexander von Humboldt, German naturalist and explorer (died 1859)
References
- ^ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Micropædia (15th ed.). 2002.
- ^ Patent 913; specification accepted January 5.
- ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- ISBN 0-304-35730-8.
- ^ "A Concise History of the Traction Engine". Steam Up. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
- ^ "Copley Medal | British scientific award". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 July 2020.