THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Series One: The Papers of Sir Hans Sloane, 1660-1753 from the British Library, London

Part 1: Science & Society, 1660-1773

CHRONOLOGY

The Life & Times of Sir Hans Sloane, 1660-1753

1660
Hans Sloane is born on 16 April in Killyleagh, County Down, the youngest of seven sons to Alexander Sloane, receiver general of taxes and his wife Sarah, daughter of the Revd Dr Hicks - Chaplain to Archbishop Laud. The Restoration of the British monarchy - Charles II returns to England on 29 May. The Royal Society is founded on 28 November as the Invisible College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning. This group has previously held meetings in Oxford and London from c.1645 onwards. The founder members of the first minuted meeting of 28 November 1660 are Sir Robert Moray (the 1st president, 1661-1662); William Brouncker (the 2nd president); Robert Boyle; Christopher Wren (who delivered the first lecture); Dr William Petty; Dr Jonathan Goddard; Sir Paul Neile; Dr John Wilkins (chairman, from Wadham, Oxford) and Messrs Ball, Bruce, Hill and Rooke. It meets at Gresham College, London.

Robert Boyle publishes his findings concerning the properties of vacuums in New experiments physico-mechanical touching the spring of air. Edmé mariotte locates the blind spot in the eye. Marcello Malpighi observes capillaries through a microscope and describes the lungs. Samuel Pepys begins his Diary (runs from 1660-1669)

1661
Charles II becomes a member of the Royal Society. Robert Boyle publishes The Sceptical chigmist and introduces the conceptual terminology of element, alkali and acid. Louis XIV crowned in France (reigns 1661-1715).

1662
Charles II charters the Royal Society, allowing it to use that name. Death of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), mathematician and philosopher. Robert Boyle frames Boyle's Law, stating that volume and pressure will vary inversely in an ideal gas under constant temperature. Peter Lely is appointed painter to the Court of Charles II. The building of the Royal Palace of Louis XIV at Versailles commences, directed by Charles Le Brun.

1663
Charles II re-charters the Royal Society, expanding its privileges. The works of René Descartes are placed on the Index of Prohibited Books of the Roman Catholic Church. Isaac Barrow becomes the first Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge. John Milton finishes Paradise Lost.

1664
Robert Hooke discovers the Great Red Spot on the face of Jupiter. Thomas Willis describes the brain in Cerebri anatome. English forces takes New Amsterdam and rename it New York.

1665
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society begin, under the direction of Henry Oldenburg, the 1st secretary. The Journal des Savants, the first literary periodical, is founded in Paris. The publication of micrographia by Robert Hooke describes cells observed under the microscope and compares light to waves in water. The Great Plague claims 75,000 lives in London causing many to flee to the country. Cambridge is closed for two years and Isaac Newton (born 1642) uses the enforced solitude to study, discovering the general binomial theorem, inventing calculus, experimenting with the composition of white light through the use of prisms, and framing the laws of motion and universal gravitation. Rembrandt paints The Jewish Bride.

1666
The Royal Society moves to Arundel House. The Académie Royale des Sciences is founded in Paris. The Great Fire ravages London. Robert Boyle publishes Hydrostatical paradoxes describing his experiments with fluids, and The origine of formes and qualities proposing an atomic/mechanical view of matter.

1667
John Ray (born 1627, later a great friend to Hans Sloane) proposes his monocot and dicot classification scheme for plants, based on the number of seed leaves of a plant. Robert Boyle demonstrates artificial respiration before Royal Society. Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, overcomes masculine prejudice and is elected as a member of the Royal Society (no other woman is admitted until 1945). Birth of Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), Publication of Milton's Paradise Lost. The Dutch sail up the Thames during the second Dutch War and blockade London for several weeks. The Fall of Clarendon. The Peace of Breda ends the Anglo-Dutch War.

1668
Newton invents the reflecting telescope. John Wallis proposes the law of conservation of momentum. Francesco Redi pioneers the use of controlled experiments and disproves the theory that maggots are spontaneously generated in rotten meat. Birth of Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738), physician.

1669
Charles II seals a third charter for the Royal Society, further extending its privileges. Newton is made a professor of mathematics at Cambridge and his De analysi per aequationes numero terminorum infinitas includes his binomial theorem and the method of finding the area beneath a curve. Newton helps with the publication of Lectiones opticae by Isaac Barrow. Steno lays the foundations of modern geology. John Locke's constitution for Carolina is approved. Death of Rembrandt (1606-1669).

1670
Robert Boyle discovers a flammable gas (hydrogen) resulting from the acidification of metals. Publication of Lectiones Geometricae by Isaac Barrow. Posthumous publication of the Pensées by Pascal. The Hudson's Bay Company is chartered. Minute hands are added to clocks.

1671
Jean Picard determines the length of a meridian of latitude of the Earth and Giovani Domenico Cassini calculates the distance between the planets and the sun - all distances being very close to modern measurements. Leibniz invents a calculating machine capable of multiplication and division, and describes the "ether". Publication of Milton's Paradise Regained.

1672
Isaac Newton is elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Otto von Guericke publishes works describing his experiments with vacuums and the method of charging a ball of sulphur with static electricity.

1673
Anton van Leeuwenhoek describes his experiments with the microscope in letters to the Royal Society. Malpighi describes the development of the ovum from egg to chick. Christiaan Huygens publishes Horologium oscillatorium sive de motu pendilorum concerning centripetal force. Death of Molière 1622-1673).

1674
Robert Hooke publishes the Attempt to prove the motion of the Earth describing planetary motion in terms of centrifugal and gravitational forces. John Mayow's Tractatus quineue medico-physici notes that air is made of two different gases and is consumed by respiration. Deaths of Robert Herrick (1591-1674) and John Milton (1608-1674).

1675
Newton lectures on light and colour at the Royal Society. The Greenwich Observatory is founded by Charles II with John Flamsteed as Astronomer-Royal. Ole Romer measures the speed of light. Publication of Malpighi's Anatome plantarum describing the structure of plants. Christopher Wren commences rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral. Death of Vermeer (1632-1675).

1676
Hans Sloane, aged 16, becomes ill - with haemoptysis, which affects him severely for the next three years and leads to his lifelong abstinence from wine and ale. Robert Hooke invents the universal joint and frames Hooke's law which states that the stretch of a spring varies directly with its tension. Newton and Leibniz correspond concerning differential equations, infinite series, fluxions and other matters. Christopher Wren commences work on the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. Publication of Thomas Shadwell's The Virtuoso, based on Robert Boyle and the Royal Society.

1677
Death of Isaac Barrow (1630-1677), mathematician. Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovers protozoa and human sperm. Publication of Spinoza's Ethics. Death of Spinoza (1632-1677). William of Orange marries Princess Mary, daughter of the Duke of York.

1678
Edmond Halley is elected a fellow of the Royal Society. Christiaan Huygens completes his Traité de la lumière describing the wave theory of light. The Dutch begin to import chrysanthemums from Japan. Publication of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Titus Oates and the Popish Plot exposed. Catholics excluded from Parliament. Robert de La Salle journeys across America (from 1678-1682).

1679
Hans Sloane comes to London, aged 19, and comes under the influence of Robert Boyle (1627-1691) and John Ray (1627-1705). Christopher Wren, Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn become his friends. Pepys temporarily imprisoned in the Tower of London. Edmond Halley catalogues 341 stars observable in the southern hemisphere. Leibniz describes binary arithmetic. Hooke believes that gravity varies with distance from the sun and suggests to Newton that this implies elliptical orbits. Death of Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), philosopher. Elias Ashmole founds the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Hannepin discovers the Niagara Falls.

1680
Robert Boyle publishes The aerial noetiluca describing phosporus. Anton van Leeuwenhoek is elected a member of the Royal Society. Newton explains the elliptical orbit of the planets around the sun. Louis XIV founds the Comédie Française. Death of Bernini (1598-1680), architect and artist.

1681
Robert de La Salle explores the Mississippi. Death of Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681), dramatist, successor to Lope de Vega. Christopher Wren completes the Tom Tower, Christ Church, Oxford.

1682
John Ray publishes Methodus plantarum nova discussing the classification of planets. Edmond Halley observes the great comet and correctly predicts its return. The journal Acta Eruditorum is founded. The Advocate's library in Edinburgh is founded. Louis XIV moves the French Court to Versailles. Peter I "the Great" becomes Czar of Russia (reigns 1682-1725).

1683
Sloane embarks on a Grand Tour visiting: Paris, where he meets Radné La Fontaine de Sevigné and Nicolas Lemery, the chemist; Orange, near Angers, where he graduates MD on 28 July; and Montpelier, where he meets William Courten, who becomes one of his closet friends, and learns botany under the tuition of Pierre Magnol and Joseph de Tournefort. Anton van Leeuwenhoek makes first observation of bacteria under a microscope (a feat not repeated by other scientists until the eighteenth century). The Ryehouse plot. The Siege of Vienna by the Turks fails, but leads to the popularity of coffee (beans and grounds were found in the abandoned baggage of the Turks), the invention of the crescent roll (croissant), and the growth of cafés and café society throughout Europe. William Dampier begins his circumnavigation of the world.

1684
Sloane completes his Grand Tour returning to England after visits to Toulouse, Bordeaux and Paris. Robert Boyle provides Sloane with an introduction to Thomas Sydenham, the celebrated physician, whose pioneering use of Cinchona bark for medicinal purposes inspires Sloane to search out similar natural remedies. Samuel Pepys is made President of the Royal Society. Robert Hooke's erroneous claim to have discovered the laws governing the movement of the planets leads Christopher Wren to offer a prize to the discoverer of the true solution - Edmond Halley broaches the problem with Newton who declares that he already knows the planetary orbits are elliptical owing to the inverse-square law - this is eventually shown in Newton's Principia. Leibniz provides the first published account of differential calculus. Kaempfer travels to Persia, Japan and the Far East.

1685
Sloane is made a Fellow of the Royal Society, aged 24, at the recommendation of Martin Lister. Death of Charles II and the accession of James II. Monmouth's Rebellion is defeated at Sedgemoor. The 'Bloody Assize' of Judge Jeffreys take place. Louis XIV signs the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes at Fontainbleau.

1686
Sloane is proposed as Clerk to the Royal Society. He is defeated in the ballot by Edmond Halley who receives 16 votes to Sloane's 10. The first part of Newton's Principia is presented as a paper to the Royal Society. Leibniz provides the first published account of integral calculus. Posthumous publication of Edmé Mariotte's Traité de Mouvement des eaux et des autres corps fluides.

1687
Sloane is made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians on the 12th April. He sails for the West Indies on the frigate Assistance on the 12th September in his capacity as physician to the Duke of Albermarle. The ship reaches Madeira on the 21st October and leaves on the 23rd after taking on board provisions. Sloane observes dolphins, flying fish, a grampus (a whale) and, on November 5th, he spies a Tropic bird. The ship reaches Barbados on the 25th November and Sloane is allowed ashore to go collecting specimens of plants and other curios. The ship also puts to port in St Lucia (6th December) and Dominica (7th December) before reaching Jamaica on the 19th December. Sloane is also called upon to act as physician to Sir Henry Morgan, Lt-Governor of Jamaica, the ex-buccaneer. Sloane observes wildlife, collects seeds and specimens, and reports to the Royal Society on events such as the earthquake in Lima in 1687. Publication of Newton's Principia Mathematica establishing the laws of motion and gravitation. The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society cease publication. James II issues the Declaration of Indulgence.

1688
The Duke of Albermarle dies following an earthquake on Jamaica on the 19th February. Sloane builds a collection of plants native to the West Indies and makes notes for his work in this area. Sloane receives news of the Glorious Revolution in England and of William III arriving in London on the 19th December. James II flees to France and William III and Mary are crowned.

1689
Sloane accompanies the Duchess of Albermarle on the return voyage to England, sailing on the 16th March. When they arrive home in May they are unsure as to who is king. Sloane brings back c.800 plant specimens. Death of Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689) celebrated physician and early friend to Sloane. John Locke is restored to public office by William III and Samuel Pepys is thrown out. The Bill of Rights is enacted. Louis XIV declares war on England.

1690
Publication of John Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Denis Papin invents a working steam piston. John Fell bequeaths his printing equipment to the University of Oxford, causing the foundation of Oxford University Press. William III defeats James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. The French threaten to invade England.

1691
John Evelyn visits Sloane's museum at Great Russell Street, London. Death of Robert Boyle (1627-1691), chemist and physicist. Publication of John Ray's The wisdom of God manifested in the works of creation arguing that fossils prove the existence of animals in the distant past.

1692
Death of Elias Ashmole (1617-1692), collector and natural philosopher. First performance of Purcell's The Fairy Queen. The massacre of Glencoe. The College of William and Mary is founded in Virginia. The Salem witchcraft trials take place.

1693
Sloane is appointed Secretary of the Royal Society (30th November) and revives the Philosophical Transactions, dormant since 1687. He uses his corresponding circle to gather papers and ideas and oversees new papers from John Wallis, Martin Lister, Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, Marcello Malpighi and John Locke amongst others. Publication of John Ray's Synopsis animalium quadrupedem et serpenti providing a classification scheme for animals. England's National Debt is created.

1694
Sloane is appointed Physician to Christs Hospital with an annual salary of £30 (which he returns). Death of Malpighi (1628-1694), biologist. Publication of the Dictionairre of the Académie Française. Foundation of the Bank of England. Christopher Wren commences work on Greenwich Hospital. Fischer von Erlach begins Castle Schönbrunn. Birth of Voltaire (1694-1778).

1695
Sloane is married to Elizabeth Rose, the widow of Fulk Rose of Jamaica, and the daughter of John Langley, Alderman of London. They move to No 3 Bloomsbury Place, London, WC1. During their marriage Elizabeth bears 4 children: 1 son, Hans, died infancy as did 1 daughter, Mary; 2 further daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth survive (the latter marrying Col. Charles Cadogan.) Sloane now earns a guinea per hour as a consulting physician and his patients include figures such as Samuel Pepys. Death of Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695), Dutch Physicist and astronomer. Window tax levied in England.

1696
Publication of Sloane's Catalogus Plantorum quae in Insula Jamaica sponte proveniunt (Catalogue of the Plants of Jamaica) which is enthusiastically received by John Ray and others. Publication of Anton van Leeuwenhoek's Arcana naturae describing micro-organisms. John Locke and Isaac Newton supervise the introduction of new English coinage. The Habeas Corpus Act is suspended in England.

1697
Death of Francesco Redi (1626-1697), Italian physician and man of letters. Georg Stahl introduces the concept of phlogiston as the unseen cause of burning and rusting. Death of John Audrey (1626-1697), writer and antiquary. The Peace of Ryswick between France, England, Holland and Spain. Peter the Great travels to Europe (1697-1698). The Palace of Whitehall burns down.

1698
Thomas Savery designs the first practical steam powered machine, The Miner's Friend, which pumps water from coal mines. Denis Papin builds a steam-powered piston engine. Newton calculates the speed of sound. Foundation of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

1699
Sloane is made a Correspondent of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris. William Dampier explores what is later realised to be North-West Australia.

1700
Publication of Joseph de Tournefort's Institutiones rei herbariae describing Mediterranean plants. Edmond Halley devises magnetic charts of the oceans. Ole Römer invents the meridian telescope. Death of John Dryden (1631-1700), poet and dramatist. String orchestras are introduced at about this date and the horn is introduced. William Dampier discovers the north coast of New Guinea.

1701
Sloane is awarded an MD from Oxford. He employs Humfrey Wanley as a Clerk to the Royal Society. Jethro Tull invents the mechanical seed drill. The Collegiate School of America is founded (becomes Yale University). Giacomo Pylarini experiments with smallpox inoculation. The Grand Alliance formed by England, Holland and Austria to place Archduke Charles on the throne of Spain rather than Philip, grandson of Louis XIV. Death of James II. Captain Kidd is hanged.

1702
Sloane acquires the Charlton collection. Thomas Savery publishes The Miner's Friend describing his steam pump. Wilhelm Homberg discovers boric acid. Death of William II and accession of Queen Anne. Marlborough appointed Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces. The War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) begins in support of the Grand Alliance. The first daily newspaper, the Daily Courant is published.

1703
Sir Isaac Newton is made President of the Royal Society continuing in this post until his death in 1727. Sloane serves with him as secretary from 1703 to 1713. Death of Robert Hooke (1635-1703), chemist and physician. Death of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703). The foundations of St Petersburg are laid.

1704
Publication of Newton's Optics. Death of John Locke (1632-1704), philosopher. Publication of Valsalva's De aure humana tractatus giving the first detailed account of the human ear. Marlborough defeats Bavarians and French at the Battle of Blenheim. Work begins on Buckingham Palace.

1705
Sloane is made a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Death of John Ray (1627-1705), botanist, natural philosopher and a close friend of Sloane. Sloane is made a Censor for the Royal College of Physicians (and again in 1709 and 1715). Posthumous publication of Robert Hooke's lectures on earthquakes delivered at the Royal Society, anticipating tectonics. The Royal Observatory is founded in Berlin. Francis Hauksbee proves that sound cannot travel in a vacuum. Beau Nash becomes Master of Ceremonies in Bath. Vanburgh builds Blenheim Palace for Marlborough.

1706
Publication of Römer's Observationum astronomicorum and Morgagni's Adversaria anatomica prima, landmark works in astronomy and anatomy respectively. Death of John Evelyn (1620-1706), diarist and co-founder of the Royal Society. Marlborough is victorious at Ramilles and conquers the Spanish Netherlands. Publication of The Evening Post, the first evening paper.

1707
The First volume of Sloane's A Voyage to the Islands of Madera, Barbadoes, Nieves, St Christopher's and Jamaica, with the Natural History of the last (henceforth Natural History of Jamaica) is published. Publication of Newton's Arithmetic universalis. John Foyler advocates the use of pulse readings in medicines and develops a special watch for this purpose. Giovanni Lancisi's De subitaneis mortibus provides an account of cardiac arrest. The Act of Union of England and Scotland. The birth of Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), botanist. Handel meets Scarletti in Venice.

1708
Hermann Boerhaave's Institutiones medicae is published, giving an account of inflammation. Death of Joseph de Tournefort (1656-1708), botanist. Marlborough wins battle of Oudenarde and secures Northern France. British forces take Sardinia and Minorca.

1709
Sloane is made a Foreign Associate of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, even though Britain and France are at war. Fahrenheit constructs an alcohol thermometer. Abraham Darby pioneers the use of coke for iron smelting at Coalbrookdale. Publication of Boerhaave's Aphorismi de cognoscendis et curandis which becomes a standard medical text book. Publication of George Berkeley's New theory of vision. Publication of the Tatler by Addison and Steele. Introduction of the first English Copyright Act. Marlborough victorious at Malplaquet. Magnolias introduced to England from Japan.

1710
Sloane acquires Plukenet's collections and receives a visit from Van Uffenbach. The Royal Society moves to Crane Court and its fellows are made visitors and directors of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Erick Benzelius founds what will become the Kungliga Veteskaps Societeten in Sweden. Publication of George Berkeley's Principles of human knowledge. Death of Ole Römer (1644-1710), Danish physicist. Handel becomes Kapellmeister to the Elector of Hanover. Wren completes rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral. Meissen Pottery works established. Addison attracts the virtuosi in The Tatler (26 August).

1711
Sloane acquires Herman's collection. Marsigli proves that corals are animals and not plants. Publication of The Spectator by Addison and Steele. Publication of Alexander Pope's Essay on Criticism. Marlborough is dismissed as Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces. Handel's Rinaldo is the first of his operas to be performed in London. Queen Anne opens the first races at Ascot.

1712
Sloane is appointed Physician to Queen Anne. He buys Chelsea Manor, then in the country, which was built for Henry VIII, was lived in by Catherine Parr and served as the nursery of Elizabeth I. Sloane is made a Member of the newly founded Royal Academy of Science in Berlin. Publication of Flamsteed's Historia coelestis Britannica charting the position of more than 3,000 stars and replacing the standard work by Kepler. Thomas Newcomen constructs the first useful piston engine. Death of Denise Papin (1647-1712), physicist. Sir Robert Walpole is imprisoned in the Tower on corruption charges. The publication of Pope's Rape of the Lock and Swift's Journey to Stella. The introduction of the Stamp Act leads to an increase in the price of newspapers. The last execution for witchcraft in England takes place. The Biblioteca Nacional founded in Madrid.

1713
Sloane resigns as Secretary of the Royal Society on the 30th November after 20 years' service. Publication of the second revised edition of Newton's Principia, incorporating corrections by Roger Cotes. Emmanuel Timon's lectures to the Royal Society on smallpox inoculation, as practised by the Turks. Posthumous publication of Bernoulli's Ars conjectandi describing probability theory. The Treaty of Utrecht ends the War of the Spanish succession. The Board of Longitude is established. Hawksmoor finishes the Clarendon Building in Oxford.

1714
Sloane attends Queen Anne on her death-bed on 29th July. Accession of King George I of the House Hanover and re-instatement of Marlborough. Publication of Leibniz's Monadologie. Fahrenheit constructs a mercury thermometer. Parliament offers a £20,000 prize to the first person to develop an accurate method of calculating longitude at sea.

1715
Death of Thomas Savery (1650-1715), engineer. Sir Robert Walpole commences three year term as Prime Minister of England (1715-1717). The Jacobite "Fifteen" Rebellion, supporting James Francis Edward, the Old Pretender, halted at the Battle of Sherriffmuir. Death of Louis XIV, the "Sun King", who is succeeded by Louis XV (reigns 1715-1774). Rococo style is dated from this period. William Kent pioneers the "natural" style of garden design.

1716
Sloane is made Physician-General to the Army and on the 3rd April is created Baronet. Death of Leibniz (1646-1716), mathematician and philosopher. Edmond Halley demonstrates his diving bell. Mineral springs discovered in Cheltenham. Vivaldi completes The Four Seasons. Peter the Great tours Europe.

1717
Sloane acquire Kaempfer's manuscripts and collections, which provide details of Kaempfer's travels in the Near and Far East. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu pioneers smallpox inoculation in England having witnessed the practice in Turkey. Giovanni Lancisi suggests that mosquitoes transmit malaria. The Triple Alliance is formed between England, France and Holland to uphold the Treaty of Utrecht.

1718
Sloane acquires Petivar's collections. Edmond Halley compares current star positions with those noted by Ptolemy and Hipparchus and discovers the proper motion of fixed stars. Etienne Geoffroy's Table des différents rapport en chimie is published. The Quadruple Alliance is formed between England, France, Austria and Holland against Spain. Admiral Byng destroys the Spanish Fleet. Voltaire imprisoned in the Bastille. England's first bank notes issued. New Orleans founded. The Society Antiquaries founded.

1719
Sloane is elected as President of the Royal College of Physicians. Death of John Flamsteed (1646-1719), Astronomer Royal. He is succeeded by Edmond Halley. Publication of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

1720
Peace with Spain. The collapse of the South Sea Bubble scheme to pay off the National Debt. France bankrupted by the collapse of John Law's Mississippi Company.

1721
Jakob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island. Zabdiel Boylston introduces smallpox inoculation to America. Sir Robert Walpole commences 21-year second term as Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1721-1742). Bach completes the Brandenburg Concertos. Swift commences Gulliver's Travels.

1722
Sloane conveys the Physic Garden at Chelsea to the Apothecaries for a yearly rent of £5 in perpetuity. The Rysbrack statue of Sir Hans Sloane is commissioned as a token of gratitude. Publication of René de Réaumur's L'art de convertir le fer forgé en acier, the first treatise on the use of iron for steel Production. Stourhead is built in Wiltshire. Death of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722). Foundation of Guy's Hospital.

1723
Death of Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), architect, mathematician and astronomer. Death of Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), Dutch biologist and pioneer of the microscope. Publication of Jacob Leopald's Theatrum machinarum generale providing the first systematic approach to mechanical engineering.

1724
Sloane's wife, Elizabeth, dies on the 24th September. Peter the Great founds the Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg. Paul Dudley investigates the cross-fertilisation of corn. Publication of Boerhaave's Elementae chemiae, describing heat as a fluid. Gin gains great popularity in England.

1725
Sloane is visited by Benjamin Franklin. Sloane's second volume of The Natural History of Jamaica is published. Posthumous publication of a revised three volume edition of Flamsteed's Historia coelestis. Publication of Marsigli's Historie physique de la mer, a pioneering work on oceanography. Publication of Scheuchzer's Homo diluvii testis, on fossils. Death of Peter I "the Great" of Russia (tsar 1682-1725), succeeded by his wife, Catherine I (tsarina 1725-1727).

1726
Stephen Hales pioneers the measurement of blood-pressure, working with horses. Death of Sir John Vanbrugh (1664-1726), dramatist and architect. Publication of Gulliver's Travels by Swift. Voltaire lives in exile in England (from 1726-1729). Lloyd's List first appears.

1727
Sir Isaac Newton dies on the 10th March. Sloane is elected unanimously as Newton's successor as President of the Royal Society. Sloane is visited by Haller. The death of George I and the accession of George II. Publication of Stephen Hales's Vegetable staticks or Statistical Essays on nutrition of plants and plant physiology.

1728
Discovery of the Bering Strait by Vitus Bering. Publication of the first edition of the Cyclopaedia or, An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences by Ephraim Chamber's.

1729
Andrew Motte's English translation of Newton's Principia is published. Death of Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729), engineer. Stephen Gray discovered that electricity is transmittable using conductors. Foundation of Baltimore. Carolina divided into North and South Carolina by Act of Parliament. Treaty of Seville between France, Spain and England. Bach completes St Matthew Passion.

1730
Sloane resigns as Physician to Christs Hospital. Georg Brandt discovers cobalt. Four-course system of planting pioneered by Viscount Townshend.

1731
Sloane introduces the Copley Medal as a reward for distinguished scientific endeavour (named after Sir Godfrey Copley, a benefactor). Death of Etienne Geoffrey (1672-1731), French chemist and natural philosopher. Publication of the first volume of Mark Catesby's The natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama islands. Jethro Tull advocates the use of manure in farming, growing crops in rows, and hoeing to remove weeds.

1732
Sloane is one of the first subscribers (paying an annual contribution of £20) to the creation of the new colony of Georgia. Publication of Pope's Essay on Man. Birth of George Washington ( 1732-1799).

1733
The Schemnitz Mining Academy in Hungary is the first technical college in the world. John Kay invents the flying shuttle loom. Publication of Stephen Hales's Statical essays, describing the flow of blood and sap. Latin Language abolished in English courts.

1734
Publication of Voltaire's Lettres Anglais ou Philosophiques introducting Newtonian ideas to the French. Publication of Emmanuel Swedenborg's opera Philosophica et mineralia and Regnum subterraneum, discounting the laws of matter and motion and describing smelting techniques. University of Göttingen founded by George II.

1735
Sloane is made a Member of the Academies of Science in St Petersburg and Madrid. Sloane resigns as President of the Royal College of Physicians after 17 years' service. Publication of systema naturae by Linnaeus, establishing system of classification for plants and animals still used today. Death of John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), physician who advocated dietary control. John Harrison builds his first marine chronometer which will eventually solve the problem of establishing correct longitude at sea (in 1761). Charles-Marie de la Condamine journeys to Peru to measure the curvature of the earth - he returns with samples of rubber and curare.

1736
Sloane is visited by Linnaeus. Pierre de Maupertius leads a French expedition to Lapland which proves that Newton's theory of gravity is correct and Descartes's theory of vortices is false. Death of Fahrenheit (1686-1736), Dutch physicist. Aymand performs first successful appendectomy.

1737
Publication of Linnaeus's Genera plantorum, classifying 18,000 species of plants using binomial nomenclature. John Bevis observes the transit of Venus over Mercury from Greenwich Observatory. Death of Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) instrument maker. Foundation of Richmond, Virginia.

1738
Death of Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738), Dutch physician. Publication of Voltaire's Eléments de la philosophie de Newton which introduces Newton's ideas and methods to a wider audience in France. Evacuation of Herculaneum.

1739
Sloane helps to found the Foundling Hospital, together with Handel, Hogarth, Sir Thomas Coram and other leading figures. Foundation of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Foundation of what becomes the kungliga svenska vehenskapsaka demien in Sweden by Linnaeus and others. Publication of Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume. Start of the War of Jenkin's Ear against Spain. Foundation of the Methodist movement by John Wesley and George Whitefield. The first camellias arrive in England from the Far East.

1740
Sloane is visited by Handel who famously places a hot buttered muffin on one of Sloane's books. Anson commences his first voyage around the world (1740-1744). Accession of Maria Theresa of Austria (reigns 1740-1780), Frederick the Great of Prussia (reigns 1740-1786), and Tsar Ivan VI of Russia (reigns 1740-1741). Frederick the Great begins first Silesian war against Maria Theresa. William Stukely publishes Stonehenge drawing attention to the ancient ruins on Salisbury Plain.

1741
Sloane resigns as President of the Royal Society on the 30th November after 15 years in the post. James Bradley succeeds Edmond Halley as Astronomer Royal. Death of Jethro Tull (1674-1741), agriculturalist. Tsar Ivan VI of Russia is overthrown an replaced by Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great (tsarina 1741-1762)

1742
Sloane moves to Chelsea on a permanent basis. Death of Edmond Halley (1656-1742), astronomer. Foundation of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Anders Celsius constructs the centigrade thermometer using the Celsius scale. Sir Robert Walpole resigns as Prime Minister. The Peace of Berlin ends the first Silesian War. Handel completes the Messiah.

1743
Sloane is made Dr of Physic at Trinity College, Dublin. Foundation of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin and others. Publication of Jean le Rond d'Alembert's Traité de dynamique, building on Newton's laws. Birth of Joseph Banks (1743-1820), scientist. Start of the War of Austrian succession (1743-1748). Henry Pelham is elected Prime Minister (1743-1754). French explorers discover the Rocky Mountains.

1744
Publication of d'Alembert's Traité de l'equilibre de mouvement des fluides, describing the motion of fluids. Cassini directs the first national geographic survey using triangulation principles in France. Publication of Euler's Methodus inveniendi line as curvas maximi minimive propietate gaudentes, including Euler's theorem. Death of Alexander Pope (1688-1744). France declares war on Britain and Austria. French invasion of Britain defeated by the weather. Cotapaxi erupts. Anson returns from his circumnavigation of the world.

1745
Publication of Sloane's An Account of a Medicine for Soreness, Weakness and other Distempers of the eyes. The Rebellion of Forty-Five supporting Charles Edward, the Young Pretender is initially successful at the Battle of Preston Pans. French forces defeat English army at the Battle of Fontenoy and take the Austrian Netherlands. British forces take Louisburg, Canada. Peace of Dresden. Fountain of Middlesex Hospital.

1746
Foundation of Princeton University. John Roebuck invents the lead-chamber process to create sulphuric acid. The Young Pretender is defeated at the Battle of Culloden. Canaletto visits England (1746-1755).

1747
Publication of d'Alembert's Réflexions sur la cause générale des vents. Publication of Clairaut's Théorie de la lune providing a partial answer to the three-body problem. Benjamin Franklin describes a method of drawing off an electric charge from a charged body. Publication of Johnson's Plan for the Dictionary. The Biblioteca Nacionale founded in Florence.

1748
Sloane is visited by Frederick, Prince of Wales. Sloane's library is described in the Gentlemen's Magazine, pp.301-2. John Wilkinson constructs the first blast furnace in Bilston. John Fothergill describes diphtheria. Publication of David Hume's Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of Austrian Succession (1743-1748). Discovery of Pompeii.

1749
Publication of David Hartley's Observations on Man. Commencement of publication of the Comte de Buffon's Historie naturelle, générale et particulière (completed 1804). Handel's Firework Music performed and Bach completes the Art of Fugue.

1751
Sloane is visited by Madame du Bocage. Publication of John Mitchell's A treatise on artificial magnets describing magnetic induction. Publication of Thomas Wright's An original theory and new hypothesis of the universe correctly identifying the Milky Way as a star system. Nicolas de Lecaille catalogues stars seen in the Southern hemisphere. Death of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Capability Brown designs the gardens at Warwick Castle.

1751
The first volume of the Encyclopédie is published by Diderot and d'Alembert (it is completed by 1772). Cronstedt discovers nickel.

1752
Sloane is made a Member of the Academy of Sciences of Gottingen. Great Britain and America adopt the Gregorian calendar, with 1 January as the start of the new year. This change is overseen by the Royal Society. Benjamin Franklin uses a kite to prove that lightning is a form of electricity and can be conducted.

1753
Sloane dies on the 11th January, aged 93. His executors are Lord Cadogan, his son-in-law, James Empson, his curator, and Sloane's nephews, William Sloane and Sloane Elsmere. By the terms of his will, Sloane's Museum and Library were offered for sale to the nation for £20,000, in the hope that they will form the cornerstone of a national library and natural history museum. On the 7th June, the Act of Parliament (26 Geo II, cap 22) is given Royal Assent, fulfilling Sloane's wish. The act also enables the purchase of the Harleian Collection for £10,000, and these collections are brought together with the Cottonian Library to form the basis of what is now known as the British Library and the British Museum. Death of George Berkeley (1685-1753), philosopher and cynic. Publication of Species plantorum by Linnaeus, completing his major works on classification. James Lind publishes his Treatise on scurvy proving the curative powers of lemon juice.

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