Isaac Newton publishes Principia Mathematica, sparking a new epoch in our understanding of physics
The Principia is “regarded as one of the most important works in the history of science”.
Modernity (1500 - 1945 C.E.)
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.
German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time
Leibniz is credited, along with Sir Isaac Newton, with the discovery of calculus (differential and integral calculus). According to Leibniz’s notebooks, a critical breakthrough occurred on 11 November 1675, when he employed integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of a function y = f(x).
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observes microorganisms, perhaps for the first time in history
Before Van Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of microorganisms in 1675, it had been a mystery why grapes could be turned into wine, milk into cheese, or why food would spoil.
British noblemen found Charles Town, to be come Nassau, in the Bahamas
The current capital of The Bahamas was formerly known as Charles Town; founded in 1670 by British Noblemen who brought British settlers with them to the island of New Providence.
The Ashanti Empire emerges in modern-day Ghana
Starting in the late 17th century, the Ashanti king Osei Tutu and his adviser Okomfo Anokye established the Ashanti Kingdom, with the Golden Stool of Asante as a sole unifying symbol.
Robert Hooke discovers cells
Robert Hooke was a 17th century “natural philosopher” — an early scientist — noted for a variety of observations of the natural world.
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.
Shah Jahan completes construction of the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million rupees, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion rupees (U.S. $827 million).