Editing 1759 in science

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{{Science year nav|1759}}

The year '''1759 in science''' and technology involved several significant events.
[[File:H4 low 250.jpg|thumb|150px|[[John Harrison|Harrison]]'s [[marine chronometer]]]]
==Astronomy==
* [[Halley's Comet]] returns; a team of three mathematicians, [[Alexis Clairaut]], [[Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande|Jérome Lalande]] and [[Nicole-Reine Lepaute|Nicole Reine Lepaute]], have – for the first time – predicted the date.

==Biology==
* [[Caspar Friedrich Wolff]]'s dissertation at the [[University of Halle]] ''Theoria Generationis'' supports the theory of [[Epigenesis (biology)|epigenesis]].<ref>{{cite journal|first=Alexander|last=Petrunkevitch|title=Russia's Contribution to Science|journal=Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences|location=New Haven|volume=23|date=June 1920|page=235}}</ref>

==Botany==
* [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|Kew Gardens]] established in England by Augusta of Saxe-Coburg, the mother of [[George III]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1084|title=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew|work=[[World Heritage]]|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|accessdate=2010-07-04| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100817210717/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1084| archivedate= 17 August 2010 <!--Added by DASHBot-->}}</ref>

==Geology==
* [[Giovanni Arduino (geologist)|Giovanni Arduino]] proposes dividing the [[geological history of Earth]] into four periods: Primitive, Secondary, [[Tertiary]] and Volcanic, or [[Quaternary]].<ref>{{cite book|authorlink=Marston Bates|last=Bates|first=Marston|title=The Nature of Natural History|page=51|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|location=New York|year=1950}}</ref>

==Medicine==
* June 15 – The first [[vascular surgery]] in history is performed by a Dr. Hallowell at [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] in England, who uses suture repair rather than a tying off with a [[Ligature (medicine)|ligature]] to repair an aneurysm on a patient's [[brachial artery]].<ref>{{cite journal|year=1761|first=Richard|last=Lambert|title=A new technique of treating an aneurysm|journal=Medical Observations and Inquiries}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=History of Microsurery|first=Yoshikazu|last=Ikuta|title=Telemicrosurgery: Robot Assisted Microsurgery|publisher=Springer|year=2012|page=5}}</ref> The new procedure of reconstructing a damaged artery replaces the practice of ligation that had risked the amputation of a limb or organ failure.<ref>{{cite book|first=Steven G.|last=Friedman|title=A History of Vascular Surgery|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2008|page=ix}}</ref> 
* [[Angélique du Coudray]] publishes ''Abrégé de l'art des accouchements'' ("The Art of Obstetrics").

==Physics==
* Posthumous publication of [[Émilie du Châtelet]]'s French translation and commentary on [[Isaac Newton|Newton]]'s ''[[Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica|Principia]]'', ''Principes mathématiques de la philosophie naturelle''.

==Technology==
* English [[clockmaker]] [[John Harrison]] produces his "No. 1 sea watch" ("H4"), the first successful [[marine chronometer]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Royal Observatory Greenwich souvenir guide|year=2012|isbn=978-1-906367-51-0|pages=34–35|quote=the first precision watch and considered by many today as the most important timekeeper ever.|author=Royal Greenwich Observatory}}</ref>

==Transport==
* [[James Brindley]] is engaged by the [[Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater|Duke of Bridgewater]] to construct a [[canal]] to transport [[coal]] to [[Manchester]] from the duke's mines at [[Worsley Navigable Levels|Worsley]], in [[North West England]].
* October 16 – [[Smeaton's Tower]], [[John Smeaton]]'s [[Eddystone Lighthouse]] off the coast of [[South West England]], is first illuminated.<ref name=thinfo>{{cite web|title=Eddystone Lighthouse|url=http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/eddystone.html|publisher=[[Trinity House]]|accessdate=2006-09-06| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909043743/http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/eddystone.html| archivedate=9 September 2006 <!--Added by DASHBot-->}}</ref>
[[File:Smeaton's Lighthouse00.jpg|thumb|[[Smeaton's Tower]]]]
==Awards==
* [[Copley Medal]]: [[John Smeaton]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Copley Medal {{!}} British scientific award |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |accessdate=21 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Births==
* January 29 – [[Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc]], French botanist (died [[1828 in science|1828]]) 
* July 19 – [[Jacques Anselme Dorthès]], French physician, entomologist and naturalist (died [[1794 in science|1794]])<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicolas |first1=Michel |title=Histoire littéraire de Nîmes et des localités voisines qui forment actuellement le département du Gard |date=5 August 2016 |publisher=BnF collection ebooks |location=Paris |isbn=9782346019731 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ewXNDAAAQBAJ&q=Jacques+Anselme+Dorth%C3%A8s&pg=PT260 |access-date=25 February 2021 |language=fr}}</ref>
* August 12 – [[Thomas Andrew Knight]], English horticulturalist (died [[1838 in science|1838]])
* September 19 – [[William Kirby (entomologist)|William Kirby]], English entomologist (died [[1850 in science|1850]])
* December 2 – [[James Edward Smith (botanist)|James Edward Smith]], English botanist (died [[1828 in science|1828]])
* Date unknown – [[Maria Petraccini]], Italian anatomist and physician (died [[1791 in science|1791]])

==Deaths==
* February 16 – [[Bartholomew Mosse]], [[Irish people|Irish]] [[surgeon]] (born [[1712 in science|1712]])
* April 6 – [[Johann Gottfried Zinn]], German anatomist and botanist (born [[1727 in science|1727]])
* July 27 – [[Pierre Louis Maupertuis]], French mathematician (born [[1698 in science|1698]])
* September 10 – [[Ferdinand Konščak]], [[Croatia]]n explorer (born [[1703 in science|1703]])
* November 29 – [[Nicolaus I Bernoulli]], Swiss mathematician (born [[1687 in science|1687]])

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1759 in science| ]]
[[Category:18th century in science]]
[[Category:1750s in science]]