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1785 in science
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<h2 id="astronomy">Astronomy</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Dunsink_Observatory/3h1oQP8h">Dunsink Observatory</a> established near <a href="/facts/Dublin/Fv8ezm8a">Dublin</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="aviation">Aviation</h2> <ul><li>January 7 – <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">Frenchman</a> <a href="/facts/Jean-Pierre_Blanchard/DLp7rHeh">Jean-Pierre Blanchard</a> and <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">American</a> <a href="/facts/John_Jeffries/zKdAxu49">John Jeffries</a> travel from <a href="/facts/Dover/Ru9mNrrw">Dover</a>, <a href="/facts/England/U9mE5bGL">England</a> to <a href="/facts/Calais/DaM9yzWq">Calais</a>, <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a> in a gas <a href="/facts/Balloon/o9JQ2ykA">balloon</a>, becoming the first to cross the <a href="/facts/English_Channel/UPjaSEXf">English Channel</a> by air.</li> <li>January 19 – <a href="/facts/Richard_Crosbie/UpgA8DTy">Richard Crosbie</a> successfully flies in a <a href="/facts/Hot_air_balloon/k2LHQvXH">hot air balloon</a> across <a href="/facts/Dublin/Fv8ezm8a">Dublin</a>, the first ascent in <a href="/facts/Ireland/35vYxXdP">Ireland</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="biology">Biology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Antoine_Fran%25C3%25A7ois%2c_comte_de_Fourcroy/GjT9JwUn">Antoine François</a> and <a href="/facts/%25C3%2589tienne_Louis_Geoffroy/8nUkqPNc">Étienne Louis Geoffroy</a> publish <i>Entomologia Parisiensis, sive, Catalogus insectorum quae in agro Parisiensi reperiuntur ...</i>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/John_Stuart%2c_3rd_Earl_of_Bute/wpdvhm29">John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute</a>, publishes <i>Botanical Tables, containing the different families of British plants</i>.</li></ul> <h2 id="earth-sciences">Earth sciences</h2> <ul><li>March 7–July – <a href="/facts/James_Hutton/Y8HUhQIu">James Hutton</a>'s <i>Theory of the Earth</i> is first presented, at the <a href="/facts/Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh/0U0vEtuK">Royal Society of Edinburgh</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="exploration">Exploration</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Andr%25C3%25A9_Michaux/MX3nmaBj">André Michaux</a> is sent by the French government to <a href="/facts/North_America/djNjCQIl">North America</a> to look for new <a href="/facts/Plant/X5BMDMvS">plants</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li>The <a href="/facts/Marquis_de_Condorcet/DjXBUnIL">Marquis de Condorcet</a> publishes <i><a href="http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k417181">Essai sur l'application de l'analyse á la probabilité des décisions rendues á la pluralité des voix</a></i> including his <a href="/facts/Voting_paradox/PXuWT0jl">voting paradox</a>, the <a href="/facts/Condorcet_method/VrPQLCz2">Condorcet method</a> of voting and his <a href="/facts/Condorcet%2527s_jury_theorem/evr1nXeA">jury theorem</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="medicine">Medicine</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/William_Withering/uQBXS2Br">William Withering</a> publishes <i>An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses</i>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/John_Aikin/vTWaDCge">John Aikin</a> publishes <i>A Manual of Materia Medica, Containing a Brief Account of All the Simples Directed in the London and Edinburgh Dispensatories, with Their Several Preparations and the Principal Compositions into which They Enter</i>.</li> <li>A form of <a href="/facts/Chainsaw/ndhINGwe">chainsaw</a> is first illustrated by Scottish doctor John Aitken, for use in <a href="/facts/Symphysiotomy/17RgFe8C">symphysiotomy</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/London_Hospital_Medical_College/8qzLK7MK">London Hospital Medical College</a> opens as England's first chartered medical school.</li></ul> <h2 id="physics">Physics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Charles-Augustin_de_Coulomb/T4EEdFIq">Charles-Augustin de Coulomb</a> first publishes <a href="/facts/Coulomb%2527s_law/V0lR5NKv">Coulomb's law</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Lionel_Lukin/17SksFFT">Lionel Lukin</a> <a href="/facts/Patent/LjT2bG3A">patents</a> a <a href="/facts/Lifeboat_(rescue)/FUWQTY03">rescue lifeboat</a> in <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain/5yBEtQIt">Great Britain</a>.</li> <li>Approximate date – American inventor <a href="/facts/Oliver_Evans/yu8wo9wD">Oliver Evans</a> erects a fully automated <a href="/facts/Flour_mill/TP4qMmSr">flour mill</a> capable of operating continuously through the pioneering use of <a href="/facts/Bulk_material_handling/WaHLlHt8">bulk material handling</a> devices including <a href="/facts/Bucket_elevator/Qw1bKaU0">bucket elevators</a>, <a href="/facts/Conveyor_belt/SC1VXcm6">conveyor belts</a>, and <a href="/facts/Archimedean_screw/MmkM1w4y">Archimedean screws</a> at <a href="/facts/Greenbank_Historic_Area/Mmz877PN">Greenbank Mill</a>, in <a href="/facts/New_Castle_County%2c_Delaware/0bXAwBrh">New Castle County, Delaware</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> – "He practically invented the modern science of handling materials."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Copley_Medal/bBwd6QzN">Copley Medal</a>: <a href="/facts/William_Roy/5Atkz1nv">William Roy</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>January 15 – <a href="/facts/William_Prout/JT6mhP0M">William Prout</a>, English <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemist</a> (died <a href="/facts/1850_in_science/ftR77CAq">1850</a>)</li> <li>February 26 – <a href="/facts/Anna_Sundstr%25C3%25B6m/zEtofs5D">Anna Sundström</a>, Swedish chemist (died <a href="/facts/1871_in_science/JxgmMrur">1871</a>)</li> <li>March 17 – <a href="/facts/Ellen_Hutchins/01kGRG6g">Ellen Hutchins</a>, Irish botanist (died <a href="/facts/1815_in_science/6K9os9sB">1815</a>)</li> <li>March 22 – <a href="/facts/Adam_Sedgwick/3bc2ua7s">Adam Sedgwick</a>, English <a href="/facts/Geologist/vGc0tBHB">geologist</a> (died <a href="/facts/1873_in_science/Cz0weAdA">1873</a>)</li> <li>April 26 – <a href="/facts/John_James_Audubon/CwbUuNYM">John James Audubon</a>, Haitian-born American <a href="/facts/Natural_history/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a>, <a href="/facts/Illustrator/6c7vjXyA">illustrator</a> (died <a href="/facts/1851_in_science/BlgTCsgL">1851</a>)</li> <li>July 6 – <a href="/facts/William_Jackson_Hooker/vFUbLV99">William Jackson Hooker</a>, English botanist (died <a href="/facts/1865_in_science/WUHc8xS1">1865</a>)</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January 23 – <a href="/facts/Matthew_Stewart_(mathematician)/Rp7M76E6">Matthew Stewart</a>, <a href="/facts/Scottish_people/0rp2bd12">Scottish</a> <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a> (born <a href="/facts/1717_in_science/KAeLw1m1">1717</a>)</li> <li>June 2 – <a href="/facts/Jean_Paul_de_Gua_de_Malves/3FsMHRRA">Jean Paul de Gua de Malves</a>, <a href="/facts/French_people/984axQ8y">French</a> mathematician (born <a href="/facts/1713_in_science/h5eSkxMw">1713</a>)</li> <li>November 16 – <a href="/facts/Johan_Gottschalk_Wallerius/PjYPP4my">Johan Gottschalk Wallerius</a>, <a href="/facts/Swedes/gAeGfw2N">Swedish</a> chemist and <a href="/facts/Mineralogist/MeIK9lx9">mineralogist</a> (born <a href="/facts/1709_in_science/yNIjEC6p">1709</a>)</li> <li>December 12 – <a href="/facts/Edme-Louis_Daubenton/47g0pcN7">Edmé-Louis Daubenton</a>, French naturalist (born <a href="/facts/1730_in_science/NnlkFw9Q">1730</a>)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Pierre_Le_Roy/r0uEKchT">Pierre Le Roy</a>, French <a href="/facts/Clockmaker/ttytAgEW">clockmaker</a> (born 1717)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Saverio_Manetti/xxEPes9z">Saverio Manetti</a>, <a href="/facts/Italians/dsdUeJ1n">Italian</a> natural historian (born <a href="/facts/1723_in_science/0dXNTwDJ">1723</a>)</li> <li><i>undated</i> – <a href="/facts/Faustina_Pignatelli/fK08jL2F">Faustina Pignatelli</a>, Italian mathematician (born <a href="/facts/1705_in_science/m8fJmXNS">1705</a>)</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Alexander Thom (1850). Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory (7th ed.). p. 258. Retrieved 2011-02-22. <a href="/wiki/Alexander_Thom_(almanac_editor)" target="_blank">/wiki/Alexander_Thom_(almanac_editor)</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Hutton, James (1788). "Theory of the Earth; or an Investigation of the Laws observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of Land upon the Globe". Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 1 (2): 209–304. Archived from the original on 2003-07-29. Retrieved 2011-10-12. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030729055405/http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/geography/Hutton/Hutton.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20030729055405/http://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/geography/Hutton/Hutton.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Aitken, John (1785). Principles of Midwifery or Puerperal Medicine. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Skippen, M.; Kirkup, J.; Maxton, R. M.; McDonald, S. W. (2004). "The Chain Saw - A Scottish Invention". Scottish Medical Journal. 49 (2): 72–75. doi:10.1177/003693300404900218. ISSN 0036-9330. PMID 15209147. S2CID 19878683. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Coulomb (1785). "Premier mémoire sur l’électricité et le magnétisme". Histoire de l’Académie Royale des Sciences. pp. 569–577. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=by5EAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA569" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=by5EAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA569</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Evans, Oliver; Evans, Thomas Ellicott Cadwallader (1848). The Young Mill-wright and Miller's Guide (12th ed.). Lea & Blanchard. p. 204. <a href="https://archive.org/details/youngmillwright00jonegoog" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/youngmillwright00jonegoog</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Thomson, Ross (2009). Structures of Change in the Mechanical Age: Technological Invention in the United States 1790-1865. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9141-0. <a href="978-0-8018-9141-0" target="_blank">978-0-8018-9141-0</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Troy, Rosemary; Wood, Graydon (June 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Greenbank Historic Area". National Park Service. <a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/73000513_text" target="_blank">https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/73000513_text</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Roe, Joseph Wickham (1916), English and American Tool Builders, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, LCCN 16011753. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (LCCN 27-24075); and by Lindsay Publications, Inc., Bradley, Illinois (ISBN 978-0-917914-73-7).. <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Wickham_Roe" target="_blank">/wiki/Joseph_Wickham_Roe</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Copley Medal | British scientific award". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 July 2020. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>