1619 in science explained

The year 1619 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Astronomy

• Publication of Johannes Kepler's third law of planetary motion in his Harmonices Mundi. He also recognises the duality of convex polyhedra.
• Publication of the Jesuit Giuseppe Biancani's Sphaera mundi, seu cosmographia demonstrativa, ac facili methodo tradita in Bologna.

Biochemistry

• Lactose is discovered by Fabriccio Bartoletti; the word lactose comes from the Latin word lac which means "milk".

Exploration

• In North America, the Churchill River is discovered by Danish explorer Jens Munk, and it will be used for over 100 years as a trading route of the Hudson's Bay Company from their fort at its mouth to the interior.
• Frederick de Houtman and Jans van Edel discover the Houtman Abrolhos islands.^[1]

Medicine

• Dermod O'Meara's text on genetic disorders, De Moribus: Pathologia Haereditaria Generalis is published in Dublin,^[2] the first medical text published in Ireland.

Metallurgy

• Sir Basil Brooke produces steel using a reverbatory furnace in Coalbrookdale, England.

Births

• probable date – Daniel Whistler, English physician (died 1684)

Deaths

• May 21 – Hieronymus Fabricius, Italian anatomist and embryologist (born 1537)
• September – Hans Lippershey, Dutch lensmaker, credited with inventing the telescope in 1608 (born c. 1570)
• Olivier de Serres, French soil scientist (born 1539)
• Caterina Vitale, Maltese chemist (born 1566)

References

1. Book: Taylor, Isaac. Names and Their Histories: a Handbook of Historical Geography and Topographical Nomenclature. 149. Rivingtons. London. 1898.
2. Book: Moody, T. W.. A New History of Ireland. 8: A Chronology of Irish History. Oxford University Press. 1989. 978-0-19-821744-2. etal.