1753 in science explained

The year 1753 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Astronomy

• Ruđer Bošković's De lunae atmosphaera demonstrates the lack of atmosphere on the Moon.^[1]

Botany

• May 1 – Publication of Linnaeus' Species Plantarum, the start of formal scientific classification of plants.^[2]
• June – Establishment in Florence of the Accademia dei Georgofili, the world's oldest society devoted to agronomy and scientific agriculture.

Chemistry

• Claude François Geoffroy demonstrates that bismuth is distinct from lead and tin.^{[3] [4] [5]}

Computer science

• January 1 – Retrospectively, the minimum date value for a datetime field in an SQL Server (up to version 2005) due to this being the first full year since Britain's adoption of the Gregorian calendar.

Medicine

• James Lind publishes the first edition of A Treatise on the Scurvy (although it is little noticed at this time).^[6]

Physics

• November 25 – The Russian Academy of Sciences announces a competition among chemists and physicists to provide "the best explanation of the true causes of electricity including their theory"; the prize will be won in 1755 by Johann Euler.^[7]

Technology

• February 17 – The concept of electrical telegraphy is first published in the form of a letter from 'C. M.' to The Scots' Magazine.^[8]
• Benjamin Franklin invents the lightning rod, to ring a bell when struck by lightning, following his 1752 kite and key tests.
• George Semple uses hydraulic lime cement in rebuilding Essex Bridge in Dublin.^[9]

Awards

• Copley Medal: Benjamin Franklin^[10]

Births

• March 26 – Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, Anglo-American physicist (died 1814)
• April 28 – Franz Karl Achard, chemist (died 1821)
• August 3 – Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope, British statesman and scientist (died 1816)

Deaths

• August 6 – Georg Wilhelm Richmann, Russian physicist, electrocuted (born 1711)
• December – Thomas Melvill, Scottish natural philosopher (born 1726)

Notes and References

1. Book: Энциклопедия для детей (астрономия). Аванта+. 1998. Москва. 978-5-89501-016-7.
2. Date adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
3. Sur Bismuth. 190. 1753. Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences. Geoffroy. C. F.. 2013-11-26.
4. 10.1021/ed009p11. The discovery of the elements. II. Elements known to the alchemists. 1932. Weeks. Mary Elvira. Mary Elvira Weeks. Journal of Chemical Education. 9. 1 . 11. 1932JChEd...9...11W.
5. Book: Hammond, C. R.. 4-1. The Elements. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 81st. Boca Raton, FL. CRC Press. 0-8493-0485-7. 2004.
6. Bartholemew. M.. James Lind and Scurvy: a revaluation. Journal for Maritime Research. National Maritime Museum. January 2002. 4 . 1–14 . 10.1080/21533369.2002.9668317 . 42109340 .
7. Book: Juznic, Stanislav Joze. Hallerstein and Gruber's Scientific Heritage. The Circulation of Science and Technology: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science. Societat Catalana d'Història de la Ciència i de la Tècnica. 2012. 358.
8. "An Expeditious Method of Conveying Intelligence". Book: Huurdeman, Anton A.. The Worldwide History of Telecommunications. John Wiley & Sons. 2003. 48.
9. Book: Semple, George. A Treatise on Building in Water. Dublin. Husband. 1776.
10. Web site: Copley Medal British scientific award . Encyclopedia Britannica . 21 July 2020 . en.