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1540 in science
The year
1540 in
science
and
technology
included a number of events, some of which are listed here.
Astronomy
Georg Joachim Rheticus
publishes
De libris revolutionum Copernici narratio prima
in
Danzig
, an abstract of
Copernicus
' as yet unpublished
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
and the first printed publication of
Copernican heliocentrism
.
Peter Apian
publishes
Astronomicon Caesareum
. The tails of comets always point away from the sun.
Alessandro Piccolomini
De Le Stelle Fisse
is the first star atlas in which stars are labelled with letters.
Chemistry
Valerius Cordus
discovers and describes a method of synthesizing
ether
("oleum dulci vitrioli") by adding
sulfuric acid
to
ethyl alcohol
.
Exploration
May 9 âÂÂ
Hernando de Alarcón
sets sail to explore the
Baja California peninsula
; on September 26 he enters the
Colorado River
.
Metallurgy
Vannoccio Biringuccio
's manual on
metalworking
,
De la pirotechnia
, is published posthumously.
Physiology and medicine
Publication in
London
of the first printed book in
English
on
obstetrics
,
The Byrth of Mankynde
, a translation attributed to Richard Jonas from
Rösslin
's
De partu hominis
. It will continue to be issued in new editions for more than a century.
Publication in Lyon of the first translation into French by
Pierre Tolet
of the sixth book devoted to Surgery of the
Medical Compendium in Seven Books
by
Paul of Aegina
.
Births
January 28 âÂÂ
Ludolph van Ceulen
,
German
mathematician
(died
1610
).
c. February or March âÂÂ
Francis Drake
,
English
explorer
(died
1596
).
Roch Le Baillif
, French
physician
(died
1598
).
François Viète
,
French
mathematician (died
1603
).
possible date
âÂÂ
Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser
,
Frisian
navigator (died 1596).
Deaths
probable date
âÂÂ
Johann Georg Faust
, German
alchemist
(born 1480).
References