1512 in science explained

The year 1512 in science and technology included a number of events, some of which are listed here.

Astronomy

• Possible date – Nicolaus Copernicus begins to write Commentariolus, an abstract of what will eventually become De revolutionibus orbium coelestium; he sends it to other scientists interested in the matter by 1514.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Exploration

• António de Abreu discovers Timor island and reaches the Banda Islands and Seram.
• Francisco Serrão reaches the Moluccas.
• Juan Ponce de León discovers the Turks and Caicos Islands.
• Pedro Mascarenhas discovers Diego Garcia and reaches Mauritius in the Mascarene Islands.

Pharmaceutics

• Hieronymus Brunschwygk's Big Book (of Distillation) describes medicinal herbs and the construction of stills for processing them.

Technology

• Martin Waldseemüller (of the Rhineland) produces and describes the first theodolite (which he calls the ).^{[4] [5] [6]}

Births

• March 5 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish cartographer (died 1594)
• approx. date – Robert Recorde, Welsh-born mathematician and physician (died 1558)^[7]

Deaths

• February 22 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian explorer (born 1454)
• August 2 – Alessandro Achillini, Italian anatomist (born 1463)
• September 29 – Johannes Engel, German astronomer and physician (born 1453)^[8]

Notes and References

1. Book: Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History. 3rd. New York. Simon & Schuster. 1991. 0-671-74919-6. 229. registration.
2. Book: Gingerich, Owen. Owen Gingerich

   . The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus. Owen Gingerich. Walker. 2004. 0-8027-1415-3. New York.

3. Book: Koyré, Alexandre. Alexandre Koyré

   . The Astronomical Revolution: Copernicus – Kepler – Borelli. Cornell University Press. 1973. Alexandre Koyré. Ithaca, NY. 0-8014-0504-1.

4. In an appendix to Gregorius Reisch's Margarita Philosophica, published in Strasburg.
5. Book: Daumas, Maurice. Scientific Instruments of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries and Their Makers. Portman. London. 1989. 978-0-7134-0727-3.
6. Book: Mills, John FitzMaurice. Encyclopedia of Antique Scientific Instruments. Aurum Press. London. 1983. 0-906053-40-4.
7. Stephen. Johnston. Recorde, Robert (c.1512–1558). 2004. 2012-01-26. 10.1093/ref:odnb/23241.
8. Book: Trimble . Virginia . Williams . Thomas R. . Bracher . Katherine . Jarrell . Richard . Marché . Jordan D. . Ragep . F. Jamil . Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers . 18 September 2007 . Springer Science & Business Media . 978-0-387-30400-7 . 339 . en.