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Prior to the
beginning of the 1600s, scientific study and scientists in the field were not truly recognized. In fact,
important figures and pioneers such as the 17th-century physicist Isaac Newton were initially called
natural philosophers because there was no such thing as the word "scientist" throughout most of the
17th century.
But it was during this period that the emergence of newly-invented machines became part of the daily
and economic lives of many people. While people studied and relied upon the more or less unproven
principles of medieval alchemy, it was during the 17th century that a transition to the science of
chemistry took place. Another important development during this time was the evolution from astrology
to astronomy.
So by the end of the 17th century, the scientific revolution had taken hold and this new field of study
had established itself as the leading society-shaping force that encompassed mathematical, mechanical,
and empirical bodies of knowledge. Notable scientists of this era include the astronomer Galileo Galilei,
philosopher René Descartes, inventor and mathematician Blaise Pascal, and Isaac Newton. Here is a
brief historical list of the greatest technology, science, and invention hits of the 17th century.
1608
1620
1624
1629
1636
1642
1643
1650
1660
Cuckoo clocks were made in Furtwangen, Germany, in the Black Forest region.
1663
Mathematician and astronomer James Gregory invents the first reflecting telescope.
1668
1670
1671
Dutch Microbiologist Anton Van Leeuwenhoek was the first to see and describe bacteria with a
microscope.
1675
1676
1679
French physicist, mathematician, and inventor Denis Papin invents the pressure cooker.
1698