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| Robert Hooke |
| (7/18/1635 – 3/3/1703) |
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| Physicist, natural scientist and architect |
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Robert Hooke anticipated some of the most significant discoveries and inventions of his time, but was unable to implement them himself. He analyzed the role of air in combustion, but his most notable accomplishment was undoubtedly the improvements he achieved in the design of scientific instruments. His many triumphs include his formulation of the theory of elasticity.
He was also a pioneer in the field of microscopic research and discovered plant cells. It was Hooke who invented the term ”cell” in a biological context – a concept that has gained fundamental importance in the life sciences since the 19th century. Hooke had many controversies with other scientists over questions of priority: Huygens and Newton are just two examples. He was secretary of the Royal Society from 1677 to 1683.
| We would like to express our gratitude to the Deutsches Museum in Munich and the University of Illinois, USA for kindly providing us with pictorial material. Our special thanks go to Dr. Rod Beavon, London, who gave us permission to use the detailed work of Kathy A. Miles and Allan Chapman as a basis for our article on Robert Hooke. – We are showing the picture opposite, as no portrait exists showing Robert Hooke as he really was. |
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