Oxford English Dictionary debuts
The Oxford English Dictionary is now the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press.
Science & academia
American inventor Charles Fritts created the first commercial solar panel
Though his solar panels were very inefficient and thus not economically-viable for most uses, they were a critical early step in the development of renewable energy technology.
Peter von Rittinger of Austria invents the world’s first functional heat pump
A heat pump is a device that uses electricity to transfer heat from a colder place to a warmer place. Air-source heat pumps are now among are most effective climate solutions. In 1856, Rittinger recognized the principle of the heat pump while conducting experiments on the use of water vapor’s latent heat for the evaporation of salt brine. As a result, the heat pump was used to dry salt in salt marshes in Austria.
British physician Edward Jenner develops first-ever successful vaccine
In the West, Jenner is often called “the father of immunology”, and his work is said to have “saved more lives than the work of any other human”.
Elena Cornaro Piscopia becomes the first woman ever to receive a university doctoral degree or PhD
The Venetian was proclaimed Magistra et Doctrix Philosophiae at the University of Padua thus becoming the first women known to have received an academic degree from a university and the first to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Ole Rømer demonstrates that the speed of light is finite, for the first time
By timing the eclipses of the Jupiter moon Io, Rømer estimated that light would take about 22 minutes to travel a distance equal to the diameter of Earth’s orbitaround the Sun.
John Evelyn publishes Sylva, among the first-ever texts to advocate for forest conservation practices
The conservation movement can be traced back to Sylva, one of the most highly influential texts on forestry ever published.
Harvard College is founded
Harvard University is now the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Its influence, wealth, and rankings have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Universidad de Santo Tomás de Aquino, the first university in the New World, is founded
Founded during the reign of Charles I of Spain, it was originally a seminary operated by Catholic monks of the Dominican Order. Later, the institution received a university charter by Pope Paul III’s papal bull.
Johannes Schöner becomes the first person to include Terra Australis on their globe
The first depiction of Terra Australis on a globe was probably on Johannes Schöner’s lost 1523 globe on which Oronce Fine is thought to have based his 1531 map of the world.