Robert hooke born

I here present to the World my imperfect Indeavours; which […] may be in some measure useful to the main Design of a reformation in Philosophy, if it be only by shewing, that there it not so much requir&#;d towards it, any strength of Imagination, or exactness of Method, or depth of Contemplation […] as a sincere Hand, and a faithful Eye, to examine, and to record, the things themselves as they appear.

Robert Hooke published Micrographia, his most famous work, in early , while the Curator at the Royal Society.

Small biography of robert hooke micrographia microscope He was always very pale and lean, and laterly nothing but Skin and Bone, with a Meagre Aspect, his Eyes grey and full, with a sharp ingenious Look whilst younger; his nose but thin, of a moderate height and length; his Mouth meanly wide, and upper lip thin; his Chin sharp, and Forehead large; his Head of a middle size. Garnett, Thomas On many occasions, Hooke took tea with his lab assistant Harry Hunt. To these discourses is prefixt the author's life, giving an account of his studies and employments, with an enumeration of the many experiments, instruments, contrivances and inventions, by him made and produced as curator of experiments to the Royal Society.

In it, he describes various man-made and natural objects as seen through a microscope. The picture of the flea shown above is one of his best-known images. The original is a gigantic 18 inches across.

Helpfully for readers who had a microscope of their own, Hooke described how he prepared objects for study. The badly behaved ant, for example kept running off the microscopic plate until he knocked it out by leaving it in brandy for an hour.

The microscope had been invented around , before Hooke was born, but its potential had never been so thoroughly exploited.

Hooke&#;s was a compound microscope, which used a second lens to magnify the image of the first to achieve a higher level of magnification than previous models, which had only one lens and which had been rather like a very powerful magnifying glass.

Small biography of robert hooke micrographia pdf The Guardian. He died on 3 March Aitken, Robert G. According to his diary, Hooke had a sexual relationship with his niece Grace, after she had turned

You may find more details on how his microscope worked here. The compound microscope is still the most commonly used type of microscope today in schools and scientific laboratories.

Visual images are now a ubiquitous method of scientific communication, but this tradition of visual communication in science began with Micrographia. It can be difficult for modern readers to understand the shock of the publication for its first audience.

Familiar objects such as nettle leaves, needles and lice were transformed into extraordinary objects by the gorgeous engravings that were based on Hooke&#;s own drawings. His vivid prose was also easier to understand than previous scientific treatises.

Small biography of robert hooke micrographia Henry VIII. On 3 July , Time magazine published a portrait, supposedly of Hooke, but when Ashley Montagu traced the source, it was found to lack a verifiable connection to Hooke. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. One of the most challenging problems Hooke solved was measuring the distance to the stars.

Hooke used everyday language for objects that had never been described before, to charming effect. His flea was ‘all over adorn’d with a curiously polish’d suit of sable Armour, neatly jointed.’ Moreover, he

In his Preface, Hooke writes that by using the microscope,

the Earth it self, which lyes so neer us, under our feet, shews quite a new thing to us, and in every little particle of its matter; we now behold almost as great a variety of Creatures, as we were able before to reckon up in the whole Universe it self.

With such beautiful images and prose, is not surprising that the book was popular with the public and inspired an interest in science in new audiences.

Christopher Cook, who built Hooke&#;s microscope, enjoyed a boom in business from customers in microscopy. Famously, Samuel Pepys noted in his diary for 21 January that &#;before I went to bed I sat up till 2 a-clock in my chamber, reading of Mr. Hookes Microscopicall Observations, the most ingenious book that ever I read in my life.&#; Pepys joined the Royal Society the following month and later served as its President.

In an indication of just how much his work penetrated popular opinion, The Virtuoso, a new play included a caricature of him.

A disgruntled Hooke described in his diary his visit to the theatre to see The Virtuoso, in which an oddly familiar character named Sir Nicholas Gimcrack carried out bizarre experiments with his microscope. The audience recognised Hooke in the audience.

A short biography of robert hooke Lost manuscript found in cupboard". Ans: The stamp used by Hooker shows an unusual profile portrait of a man's head, which some people think is a portrait of Hooker. It is scarcely an exaggeration to say that he was, historically, the creator of the Royal Society. Hooke coined the term cell to indicate that the structure of plants is similar to honeycomb cells.

With his customary surliness, Hooke noted in his diary, ‘Damned Doggs. Vindica me deus. People almost pointed.’

Dr Busby’s own first edition copy of Micrographia has been part of the library of Westminster School since it was published and today is one of the School’s most treasured possessions.

Some shortened entries have been added to this site.

For the full text, though without pictures, visit the Project Gutenberg text.