1762 in science explained

The year 1762 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Biology

• Charles Bonnet's Considerations sur les corps organisées is published in Amsterdam, synthesising current knowledge of cell biology and presenting his theory of palingenesis, intended to refute the theory of epigenesis.
• Courses begin at the first veterinary school, established by Claude Bourgelat in Lyon.

Mathematics

• September – Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorships is established in London, pioneering mutual insurance using a method of actuarial science devised by mathematician James Dodson.^[1]
• Joseph-Louis Lagrange discovers the divergence theorem.^[2]

Pharmacology

• Antoine Baumé publishes his textbook Éléments de pharmacie théorique et pratique in Paris.

Physics

• Joseph Black first makes known his discoveries on latent heat, in Glasgow.^[3]

Awards

• Copley Medal: Not awarded^[4]

Births

• April 10 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist (died 1834)
• November 20 – Pierre André Latreille, French zoologist (died 1833)

Deaths

• February 20 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (born 1723)
• March 21 – Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French astronomer (born 1713)
• June 13 – Dorothea Erxleben, German physician (born 1715)
• July 10 – Jan Frederik Gronovius, Dutch botanist (born 1690)
• July 13 – James Bradley, English Astronomer Royal (born 1693)
• July 30 – William Braikenridge, English clergyman and geometer (born 1700)^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Today & History. Equitable Life. 2009-06-26. 2010-10-20. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090629202114/http://www.equitable.co.uk/content/content_7.htm. 2009-06-29.
2. In his 1762 paper on sound, Lagrange treats a special case of the theorem: Lagrange (1762) "Nouvelles recherches sur la nature et la propagation du son" (New researches on the nature and propagation of sound), Miscellanea Taurinensia (also known as: Mélanges de Turin), 2: 11-172. This article is reprinted as: "Nouvelles recherches sur la nature et la propagation du son" in: Serret, J. A., ed., Oeuvres de Lagrange (Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1867), 1: 151-316; on pp. 263-265, Lagrange transforms triple integrals into double integrals using integration by parts.
3. R. G. W.. Anderson. Black, Joseph (1728–1799). 2004. Online. 2016-02-01. 10.1093/ref:odnb/2495.
4. Web site: Copley Medal British scientific award . Encyclopedia Britannica . 21 July 2020 . en.
5. Web site: William Braikenridge. O'Connor. John J.. Edmund F.. Robertson. Edmund F. Robertson. MacTutor History of Mathematics. 2012-01-24. November 1999. 2019-08-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20190827014808/http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Braikenridge.html. dead.