The year 1703 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Biology

Charles Plumier's Nova plantarum Americanarum genera begins publication in Paris. This includes descriptions of Fuchsia, discovered by him on Hispaniola,[1] and naming of the genus Magnolia, applied to species from Martinique.

Meteorology

November 24–December 2 - The Great Storm of 1703, an Atlantic hurricane, ravages southern England and the English Channel, killing nearly 8000, mostly at sea.

Technology

An early, crude seismograph is developed by the French physicist Abbé Jean de Hautefeuille.

Appointments

Isaac Newton is elected president of the Royal Society, a position he will hold until his death in 1727.

Births

January 8 - André Levret, French obstetrician (d. 1780)
October 28 - Antoine Deparcieux, French mathematician (d. 1768)
November 25 - Jean-François Séguier, French astronomer and botanist (d. 1784)
December 2 - Ferdinand Konščak, Croatian explorer (d. 1759)
December 9 - Chester Moore Hall, English scientific instrument maker (d. 1771)
undated - Aleksei Chirikov, Russian explorer (d. 1748)

Deaths

March 3 - Robert Hooke, English scientist (b. 1635)
March 20 (probable) - Johann von Löwenstern-Kunckel, German chemist (b. 1630?)
September 22 - Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician and scientist (b. 1622)
October 28 - John Wallis, English mathematician (b. 1616)

References

^ (1910) The Encyclopædia Britannica: a Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, Volume XI, Franciscans to Gibbons 11th ed. New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 272. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.

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