The year 1706 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Mathematics

William Jones publishes Synopsis palmariorum matheseos or, A New Introduction to the Mathematics, Containing the Principles of Arithmetic and Geometry Demonstrated in a Short and Easie Method ... Designed for ... Beginners in which he
proposes using the symbol π (the Greek letter pi, as an abbreviation for perimeter) to represent the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.
introduces John Machin's quickly converging inverse-tangent series for π (pi), enabling it to be computed to 100 decimal places.[1]

Medicine

Giovanni Battista Morgagni publishes Adversaria anatomica, the first in a series in which he describes his observations of human anatomy.

Technology

Francis Hauksbee produces his 'Influence machine' to generate static electricty.[2]

Publications

Johann Jakob Scheuchzer begins publication in Zürich of his Beschreibung der Naturgeschichte des Schweitzerlandes giving an account of the natural history and geology of Switzerland.

Births

January 17 - Benjamin Franklin, American scientist and inventor, known for his experiments with electricity (d. 1790)
January 28 - John Baskerville, English printer and inventor (d. 1775)
May 12 - François Boissier de Sauvages de Lacroix, French physician and botanist (d. 1767)
10 June 1706 Birth of John Dollond in Spitalsfield, (London), England
December 17 - Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1749)

Deaths

Date unknown - Jeanne Dumée, French astronomer

References

^ O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "1706 in science", MacTutor History of Mathematics archive, University of St Andrews.
^ Burke, James (1978). Connections. London: Macmillan. p. 75. ISBN 0-333-24827-9.

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