Dictionary of Scientific Biography
Linda Hall Library Collection Table of Contents
AGRICOLA, GEORGIUS, also known as Georg
Bauer b. Glauchau, Germany, 24 March 1494; d.
Chemnitz, Germany [now Karl-Marx-Stadt, German
Democratic Republic], 21 November 1555), mining,
metallurgy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BALDI, BERNARDINO (b. Urbino, Italy, 5 June
1553; d. Urbino, 10 October 1617), mechanics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BORELLI, GIOVANNI ALFONSO (b. Naples, Italy,
January 1608; d. Rome, Italy, 31 December 1679),
astronomy, epidemiology, mathematics, physiology
(iatromechanics ), physics, volcanology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BRUNO, GIORDANO (b. Nola, Italy, 1548; d. Rome,
Italy, 17 February 1600), philosophy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BUCKLAND, WILLIAM (b. Axminster, England, 12
March 1784; d. Islip, England, 14 August 1856),
geology, paleontology.
NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
BUFFON, GEORGES-LOUIS LECLERC, COMTE
DE (b. Montbard, France, 7 September 1707; d. Paris,
France, 16 April 1788); natural history.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BURNET, THOMAS (b. Croft, Yorkshire, England,
ca. 1635; d. London, England, 27 September 1715),
cosmogony, geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CARDANO, GIROLAMO (b. Pavia, Italy, 24 September
1501; d. Rome, Italy, 21 September 1576),
medicine, mathematics, physics, philosophy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAMBERS, ROBERT (b. Peebles, Scotland, 10 July
1802; d. St. Andrews, Scotland, 17 March 1871), biology,
geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
COMMANDINO, FEDERICO (b. Urbino, Italy,
1509; d. Urbino, 3 September 1575), mathematics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CONYBEARE, WILLIAM DANIEL (b. London,
England, June 1787; d. Llandaff, Wales, 12 August
1857), geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CUVIER, GEORGES (b. Montbéliard,
Württemberg,
23 August 1769; d. Paris, France, 13 May 1832),
zoology, paleontology, history of science.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
DESCARTES, RENÉ DU PERRON (b. La Haye,
Touraine, France, 31 March 1596; d. Stockholm,
Sweden, 11 February 1650), natural philosophy, scientific
method, mathematics, optics, mechanics, physiology.
NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY DESCARTES: Mathematics and Physics. NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY DESCARTES: Physiology. BIBLIOGRAPHY
GALILEI, GALILEO (b. Pisa, Italy, 15 February
1564; d. Arcetri, Italy, 8 January 1642), physics,
astronomy.
Early Years. Professorship at Pisa. Professorship at Padua. Early Work on Free Fall. The Telescope. Controversies at Florence. Dialogue on the World Systems. The Trial of Galileo. Two New Sciences. Last Years. Sources of Galileo's Physics. Experiment and Mathematics. The Influence of Galileo. Personal Traits. BIBLIOGRAPHY
GASSENDI (GASSEND), PIERRE (b. Champtercier,
France, 22 January 1592; d. Paris, France, 24 October
1655), philosophy, astronomy, scholarship.
NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
GESNER, KONRAD (b. Zurich, Switzerland, 26
March 1516; d. Zurich, 13 March 1565), natural sciences,
medicine, philology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GOMPERTZ, BENJAMIN (b. London, England, 5
March 1779; d. London, 14 July 1865), mathematics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GOODRICH, EDWIN STEPHEN (b. Weston-super-Mare,
England, 21 June 1868; d. Oxford, England,
6 January 1946), comparative anatomy, embryology,
paleontology, evolution.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GOULD, JOHN (b. Lyme Regis, England, 14 September
1804; d. London, England, 3 February 1881),
ornithology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
HITCHCOCK, EDWARD (b. Deerfield, Massachusetts,
24 May 1793; d. Amherst, Massachusetts, 27
February 1864), geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
HARRIS, JOHN (b. Shropshire [?], England, ca.
1666; d. Norton Court, Kent, England, 7 September
1719), natural philosophy, dissemination of knowledge.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
HOBBES, THOMAS (b. Malmesbury, England, 5
April 1588; d. Hardwick, Derbyshire, England, 4 December
1679), political philosophy, moral philosophy,
geometry, optics.
NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
HOOKE, ROBERT (b. Freshwater, Isle of Wight,
England, 18 July 1635; d. London, England, 3 March
1702), physics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
HUTTON, JAMES (b. Edinburgh, Scotland, 3 June
1726; d. Edinburgh, 26 March 1797), geology, agriculture,
physical sciences, philosophy.
Geology. The Theory of the Earth. Reception of the Theory. Agriculture and Evolution. Physical Sciences. Philosophy. NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
JORDANUS DE NEMORE (fl. ca. 1220), mechanics,
mathematics.
NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
KEILL, JOHN BIBLIOGRAPHY
LAMARCK, JEAN BAPTISTE PIERRE ANTOINE
DE MONET DE (b. Bazentin-le-Petit, Picardy,
France, 1 August 1744; d. Paris, France, 28 December
1829), botany, invertebrate zoology and paleontology,
evolution.
Botany. Institutional Affiliations. Chemistry. Meteorology. Invertebrate Zoology and Paleontology. Geology. Theory of Evolution. Origins of Lamarck's Theory. Lamarck's Reputation. BIBLIOGRAPHY
LEA, ISAAC (b. Wilmington, Delaware, 4 March
1792; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 8 December
1886), malacology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LEIBNIZ, GOTTFRIED WILHELM (b. Leipzig,
Germany, 1 July 1646; d. Hannover, Germany,
14 November 1716), mathematics, philosophy, metaphysics.
LEIBNIZ: Physics, Logic, Metaphysics NOTES LEIBNIZ: Mathematics BIBLIOGRAPHY
LISTER, MARTIN (christened Radclive, Buckinghamshire,
England, 11 April 1639; d. Epsom, England,
2 February 1712), zoology, geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LYELL, CHARLES (b. Kinnordy, Kirriemuir, Angus,
Scotland, 14 November 1797; d. London, England,
22 February 1875), geology, evolutionary biology.
NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
MANTELL, GIDEON ALGERNON (b. Lewes, Sussex,
England, 3 February 1790; d. London, England,
10 November 1852), geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MILLER, HUGH (b. Cromarty, Scotland, 10 October
1802; d. Portobello, Scotland, 24 December 1856),
geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MONTE, GUIDOBALDO, MARCHESE DEL (b.
Pesaro, Italy, 11 January 1545; d. Montebaroccio,
6 January 1607), mechanics, mathematics, astronomy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MURCHISON, RODERICK IMPEY (b. Tarradale,
Ross and Cromarty, Scotland, 19 February 1792;
d. London, England, 22 October 1871), geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
NEWTON, ISAAC (b. Woolsthorpe, England,
25 December 1642; d. London, England, 20 March
1727), mathematics, dynamics, celestial mechanics,
astronomy, optics, natural philosophy.
Lucasian Professor. On 1 October 1667, some two
years after his graduation, Newton was elected minor
fellow of Trinity, and on 16 March 1668 he was
admitted major fellow. He was created M.A. on
7 July 1668 and on 29 October 1669, at the age of
twenty-six, he was appointed Lucasian professor. He
succeeded Isaac Barrow, first incumbent of the chair,
and it is generally believed that Barrow resigned his
professorship so that Newton might have it.10
Mathematics. Any summary of Newton's contributions
to mathematics must take account not only
of his fundamental work in the calculus and other
aspects of analysis--including infinite series (and most
notably the general binomial expansion)--but also his
activity in algebra and number theory, classical and
analytic geometry, finite differences, the classification
of curves, methods of computation and approximation,
and even probability. Optics. Dynamics, Astronomy, and the Birth of the
“Principia.” Mathematics in the “Principia.” The “Principia”: General Plan. The “Principia”: Definitions and Axioms. Book I of the “Principia.” Book II of the “Principia.” Book III, “The System of the World.” Revision of the “Opticks” (the Later Queries);
Chemistry and Theory of Matter. Alchemy, Prophecy, and Theology. Chronology and
History. The London Years: the Mint, the Royal Society,
Quarrels with Flamsteed and with Leibniz. Newton's Philosophy: The Rules of Philosophizing,
the General Scholium, the Queries of the “Opticks.” NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
OWEN, RICHARD (b. Lancaster, England, 20 July
1804; d. Richmond Park, London, England,
18 December 1892), comparative anatomy, vertebrate
paleontology, geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PACIOLI, LUCA (b. Sansepolcro, Italy, ca. 1445;
d. Sansepolcro, 1517), mathematics, bookkeeping.
NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
PLAYFAIR, JOHN (b. Benvie, near Dundee,
Scotland, 10 March 1748; d. Edinburgh, Scotland,
20 July 1819), mathematics, physics, geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PLAYFAIR, LYON (b. Chunar, India, 21 May 1818;
d. London, England, 29 May 1898), chemistry.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PLOT, ROBERT (b. Borden, Kent, England,
13 December 1640; d. Borden, 30 April 1696), natural
history, archaeology, chemistry.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SCHEUCHZER, JOHANN JAKOB (b. Zurich,
Switzerland, 2 August 1672; d. Zurich, 23 June
1733), medicine, natural history, mathematics,
geology, geophysics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SCHOTT, GASPAR (b. Königshofen, near Würzburg,
Germany, 5 February 1608; d. Würzburg,
22 May 1666), mathematics, physics, technology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SCROPE, GEORGE JULIUS POULETT (b. London,
England, 10 March 1797; d. Fairlawn [near
Cobham], Surrey, England, 19 January 1876), geology.
NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY
SEDGWICK, ADAM (b. Dent, Yorkshire, England,
22 March 1785; d. Cambridge, England, 27
January 1873), geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SMITH, WILLIAM (b. Churchill, Oxfordshire,
England, 23 March 1769; d. Northampton, England,
28 August 1839), geology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
STENSEN, NIELS, also known as Nicolaus Steno
(b. Copenhagen, Denmark, 1%6111 January 1638; d.
Schwerin, Germany, 25 November/5 December
1686), anatomy, geology, mineralogy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
STERNBERG, KASPAR MARIA VON (b. Prague,
Bohemia [now in Czechoslovakia], 6 January 1761;
d. Březina castle, Radnice, 20 December 1838),
botany, geology, paleontology.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WOODWARD, JOHN (b. Derbyshire, England, 1
May 1665; d. London, England, 25 April 1728),
geology, mineralogy, botany.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Electronic edition published by Cultural Heritage Langauge Technologies (with permission from Charles Scribners and Sons) and funded by the National Science Foundation International Digital Libraries Program. This text has been proofread to a low degree of accuracy. It was converted to electronic form using data entry.
Table of Contents Page 104 of 314
HOBBES, THOMAS (b. Malmesbury, England, 5
April 1588; d. Hardwick, Derbyshire, England, 4 December
1679), political philosophy, moral philosophy,
geometry, optics.
Thomas Hobbes, author of Leviathan and one of
England's most penetrating philosophers, was born
into an impoverished family in Wiltshire. His father,
for whom he was named, was vicar of St. Mary's
Church in Westport. His mother came of a yeoman
family named Middleton. According to John Aubrey,
the elder Thomas Hobbes was a semiliterate man:
“One of the Clergie of Queen Elizabeth's time, a little
learning went a great way with him and many other
ignorant Sir Johns in those days.”1 We know at least
that he was not a discreet individual; after a night
of card playing he fell asleep in his church and was
heard to utter, “Clubs is trumps.” Later a more serious
indiscretion caused an upheaval in the family;
its effect on the child Thomas can only be guessed.
Standing in front of his church, the father quarreled
with a fellow parson, struck him, and was obliged
in consequence to flee from Malmesbury, never to
return. Thus, before he reached the age of seven,
Thomas Hobbes was deprived of the society of his
father; and salt was rubbed in the wound when the
man his father had struck became the new vicar.
The care of the Hobbes family passed to an uncle,
Francis Hobbes, a glover and an intelligent man who
recognized signs of precocity in his nephew and
underwrote the cost of his education. When he was
seven, Hobbes was sent to school at the house of
Richard Latimer, described by Aubrey as “a good
Grecian.” He was given a solid grounding in Latin
and Greek; and at age fourteen he matriculated at
Magdalen Hall (later called Hertford College), Oxford,
where, however, he chafed under the restrictions
of a scholastic curriculum. He preferred to
“prove things after my own sense,”2 and he read
deeply in areas not prescribed by his tutors. Astronomy
and geography were his favorite subjects at this
time.
In 1608 Hobbes, now bachelor of arts, was recommended
by the principal of his college to be tutor
to the son of William Cavendish, Baron Hardwicke,
who later became the second earl of Devonshire. The
significance of Hobbes's appointment to the Cavendish
household cannot be exaggerated. The young
graduate was introduced to a cultured, aristocratic
world. Although his duties at first were almost
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