Editing 1784 in science

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{{Science year nav|1784}}

The year '''1784 in [[science]]''' and [[technology]] involved some significant events.

==Astronomy==
* September 10 – [[Edward Pigott]] identifies the [[variable star]] [[Eta Aquilae]] from [[York]], England.
* October 19 – [[John Goodricke]] begins his observations of the variable star [[Delta Cephei]] from York.

==Biology==
* Publication of the ''Annals of Agriculture'' edited by [[Arthur Young (writer)|Arthur Young]] begins in [[Great Britain]].
* [[Peter Simon Pallas]] begins publication of ''Flora Rossica'', the first [[Flora]] of [[Russia]].

==Chemistry==
* L'Abbé [[René Just Haüy]] states the geometrical law of [[crystallography|crystallization]].<ref>{{cite book|first=René Just|last=Haüy|title=Essai d'une théorie sur la structure des crystaux|location=Paris|publisher=Gogué|year=1784}}</ref>
* [[Antoine Lavoisier]] pioneers [[stoichiometry]].
* [[Citric acid]] is first isolated by [[Carl Wilhelm Scheele]], who crystallizes it from lemon juice.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Scheele|first=Carl Wilhelm|title=Anmärkning om Citron-saft, samt sätt at crystallisera densamma|journal=Kungliga Vetenskaps Academiens Nya Handlingar [New Proceedings of the Royal Academy of Science]|year=1784|volume=5|pages=105–109|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009215438;view=1up;seq=115|series=2nd series|trans-title=Note about lemon juice, as well as ways to crystallize it|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Graham|first=Thomas|title=Elements of chemistry, including the applications of the science in the arts|url=https://archive.org/details/elementschemist00grahgoog|access-date=2010-06-04|year=1842|publisher=Hippolyte Baillière|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/elementschemist00grahgoog/page/n973 944]}}</ref>
* [[Cholesterol]] is isolated.

==History of science==
* Publication of David Bourgeois' ''Recherches sur l'art de voler, depuis la plus haute antiquité jusque'a ce jour'' in [[Paris]], the earliest work on the history of flight.

==Mathematics==
* [[Carl Friedrich Gauss]], at the age of seven, pioneers the field of summation with the formula summing 1:n as (n(n+1))/2.

==Medicine==
* 11 February – [[Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland]] chartered.
* 12 March — Appointment of the French [[Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism]] (the Commission's Report was presented to [[Louis XVI|King Louis XVI]] on 11 August 1784).
* [[Angelique du Coudray|Madame du Coudray]], pioneer of modern [[midwifery]] in [[France]], retires.
* Benjamin Franklin makes the first known specific reference (in a letter) to the wearing of [[bifocals|bifocal]] [[spectacles]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The 'Inventor' of Bifocals?|author=The College of Optometrists|url=http://www.college-optometrists.org/en/knowledge-centre/museyeum/online_exhibitions/artgallery/bifocals.cfm|accessdate=2011-06-21|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613044912/http://www.college-optometrists.org/en/knowledge-centre/museyeum/online_exhibitions/artgallery/bifocals.cfm|archivedate=13 June 2011<!--Added by DASHBot-->}}</ref>
* [[John Hunter (surgeon)|John Hunter]] first describes the condition [[phlebitis]].

==Paleontology==
* The first description of a ''[[Pterodactylus]]'' [[fossil]] is made by [[Cosimo Alessandro Collini]], although he is unable to determine what kind of creature it is.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Collini|first=C. A.|year=1784|title=Sur quelques Zoolithes du Cabinet d'Histoire naturelle de S.A.S.E. Palatine & de Bavière, à Mannheim|journal=Acta Theodoro-Palatinae Mannheim 5 Pars Physica|pages=58–103}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2004.02.002|last1=Taquet|first1=P.|last2=Padian|first2=K.|year=2004|title=The earliest known restoration of a pterosaur and the philosophical origins of Cuvier's ''Ossemens Fossiles''|journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol|volume=3|issue=2|pages=157–175}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Unwin|first=David M.|title=The Pterosaurs: From Deep Time|year=2006|publisher=Pi Press|location=New York|isbn=0-13-146308-X}}</ref>

==Physics==
* January 15 – [[Henry Cavendish]]'s paper to the [[Royal Society]] of [[London]], ''Experiments on Air'', reveals the composition of [[water (molecule)|water]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Experiments on Air|jstor=106582|first=Henry|last=Cavendish|year=1784|journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London]]|volume=75|pages=372–384|doi=10.1098/rstl.1785.0023|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1432276/files/article.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* [[Jean-Paul Marat]] publishes ''Notions élémentaires d'optique'' (''Elementary Notions of Optics'')

==Surveying==
* [[William Roy]] measures the baseline for the [[Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790)]] linking the observatories of [[Paris Observatory|Paris]] and [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich|Greenwich]]. The measurement is accurate to within a few inches in a distance of over 280,000&nbsp;ft., an unprecedented accuracy for this time. Roy is awarded the [[Copley Medal]] in the following year.<ref>{{cite journal|year=1785|last=Roy|first=William|title=An Account of the Measurement of a Base on Hounslow-Heath|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London|volume=75|pages=385–480|url=https://archive.org/details/philtrans01222507|doi=10.1098/rstl.1785.0024|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Technology==
* April 28 – [[James Watt]] receives a British [[patent]] for his [[parallel motion]] and other improvements to the [[steam engine]].<ref>No. 1432.</ref>
* June 4 – [[Élisabeth Thible]] becomes the first woman passenger in a [[hot air balloon|hot-air balloon]], at [[Lyon]], [[France]].<ref>''[[Gazette d'Amsterdam]]'' 25 June 1784; ''[[Journal des sçavans]]'' November 1784 pp. 760-762.</ref>
* August 21 – [[Joseph Bramah]] receives his first [[Lock (security device)|lock]] patent in [[London]].
* Rev. Dr. [[Edmund Cartwright]] designs his first [[power loom]] in England.
* [[Henry Cort]] of [[Funtley]], [[England]], applies the coal-fired [[reverbatory furnace]] to the [[Puddling (metallurgy)|puddling]] process for conversion of [[cast iron|cast]] to [[wrought iron]].<ref>{{cite book|first=W. K. V.|last=Gales|title=Ironworking|location=Princes Risborough|publisher=Shire|year=1981|isbn=0-85263-546-X|page=8}}</ref>

==Awards==
* [[Copley Medal]]: [[Edward Waring]]<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==
* March 12 – [[William Buckland]], [[English people|English]] [[geologist]] and [[paleontologist]] (died [[1856 in science|1856]])
* June 3 – [[William Yarrell]], English [[zoologist]] and bookseller (died 1856)
* June 17 – [[Andrew Crosse]], English 'gentleman scientist', pioneer experimenter in electricity (died [[1855 in science|1855]])
* July 22 – [[Friedrich Bessel]], [[German people|German]] [[mathematician]] (died [[1846 in science|1846]])
* September 1 – [[Thomas Frederick Colby]], English [[cartographer]] (died [[1852 in science|1852]])

==Deaths==
* May 12 – [[Abraham Trembley]], [[Republic of Geneva|Genevan]] [[naturalist]] (born [[1710 in science|1710]])
* September 1 – [[Jean-François Séguier]], [[French people|French]] [[astronomer]] and [[botanist]] (born [[1703 in science|1703]])
* September 4 – [[César-François Cassini de Thury]], French astronomer (born [[1714 in science|1714]])

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1784 in science| ]]
[[Category:18th century in science]]
[[Category:1780s in science]]