1596 in science

none 1596 science 1596 The year 1596 in science and technology included some significant events. Astronomy David Fabricius discovers the first non-supernova variable star, Omicron Ceti. Johannes Kepler's Mysterium Cosmographicum is the first published defense of the Copernican (heliocentric) system of planetary motion. Botany Gaspard Bauhin publishes Pinax theatri botanici, an early classified flora. Mathematics Ludolph van Ceulen computes π to twenty decimal places using inscribed and circumscribed polygons. Medicine William Slingsby discovers that water from the Tewitt Well mineral spring at Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England, possesses similar properties to that from Spa, Belgium. Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) is published posthumously in an illustrated edition. Earth sciences Abraham Ortelius, in the last edition of his Thesaurus geographicus, considers the possibility of continental drift. Exploration June 17 – Willem Barents makes the first documented discovery of Spitsbergen Svalbard archipelago.No Man's Land Technology John Harington describes the "Ajax", a precursor to the modern flush toilet, in The Metamorphosis of Ajax. Births March 31 – René Descartes (d. 1650), French-born philosopher and mathematician. approximate date – Peter Mundy (d. c.1667), English traveller. Deaths January 27 – Sir Francis Drake (b. 1540), English explorer (at sea). September 15 – Leonhard Rauwolf (b. either 1535 or 1540), German botanist and physician. September – Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser (b. 1540?), Frisian navigator (at sea). References Category:16th century in science Category:1590s in science