Robert Hook: biography and personal life. A short biography of Robert Hooke and his discovery

English naturalist Robert Hooke was one of the most outstanding minds of the seventeenth century. He worked on various hypotheses and devices, improved the structure of the microscope and first established the features of the cellular structure of tissues.

Childhood of the great scientist

The future physicist, botanist, inventor and astronomer was born on July 18, 1635 in the town of Freshwater, which is located on the Isle of Wight. His father was rector in the Church of All Saints. Close people long feared for the baby's health, as he was very weak and frail, but Robert survived. In 1648, after the death of his father, Robert Hooke moved to London and became a pupil of the artist named Peter Lelly. Already becoming a famous scientist, he frowned upon his childhood, but the skill of illustrations with which the physicist accompanied his works allows us to say that time in the art workshop was not lost in vain. At the age of fourteen the boy became a student of the Westminster School of Bashbi, from which he graduated in 1653. Like any scientist, Robert Hooke studied Latin, which was the main language of scientific communication of those times. In addition, he owned Hebrew and Greek, was able to play on the organ and instantly mastered complex textbooks.

The beginning of scientific activity

After school, Robert Hook moved to Oxford to become a student at Christ Church College. In addition, he was a chorister in the church, as well as an assistant and a close associate of Boyle. In the same years, acquaintance with the participants of the "Invisible College" of Oxford, the founders of the scientific and organizational society, which played a significant role in the life of Hooke. During this period the physicist invented an air pump, created a treatise on the movement of liquid in the capillaries. In addition, Robert Hooke, whose discoveries made it possible to create a spring mechanism for pocket watches, had a small dispute with Huygens, who also dealt with such devices. In 1662, the scientist was awarded the degree of Master of Arts at Oxford University, the Royal Society, at that time just formed, appointed him curator of experiments. In 1663, Robert Hooke created a charter for this scholarly community, was admitted to its membership, and in 1677 became its secretary.

The London professor

Even a brief biography of Robert Hooke can not do without a reference to the fact that in 1664, when the plague raged in England, the physicist did not leave London. Shortly before that, he was appointed professor of the Greshamovsky College and lived in an apartment in his building. In addition, Guk did not stop the activities of the curator of the experiments of the Royal Society. It was not an easy job, for which no reward was intended. For not too well-equipped scientist preparation of new experiments was associated with significant costs. Nevertheless, this work helped his personal research and created physics the authority of a respected honorary consultant. In addition, the breadth of Robert's interests impressed other members of the community. Information about Robert Hooke in the "History of the Royal Society" tells of his work as a curator and describes his amazing experiments with vacuum, artillery powder, thermal expansion of glass, as well as work on the creation of a microscope, an iris diaphragm and various meteorological instruments.

Creation of "Micrography"

In 1665 the most important work of the scientist was published. A treatise titled "Micrography" described in detail the ways in which a microscope can be used for a variety of scientific studies. It described sixty different experiments with parts of plants, insects and animals. The discovery about the cellular structure of organisms was made by Robert Hooke. Biology was not his main scientific interest, so the result of the research is all the more amazing. In addition, the material on
Fossils, makes Hooke also the founder of paleontology. Excellent quality illustrations and engravings have made "Micrography" an invaluable book. Despite the fact that the scientist is practically forgotten at the moment, his breakthrough in the study of cells is of enormous importance. Know about this discovery is really worth it.

Opening the cell

The improved microscope of Robert Hooke was the subject of constant interest of the scientist. He considered using it a lot of objects. Once, as an object for studying, he caught a bottle stopper. A sharp cut with a knife struck the scientist with his complex and correct structure. The cells that made up the cork material reminded Hooke of the honeycomb. Since the cut was of plant origin, further research was conducted on the stems and branches of other plants. On a thin section of elderberry, Robert again saw a honeycomb surface. These cells, separated from each other by the finest partitions, were called physical cells by the physicist. He studied their dimensions and the effect of their presence on the property of the material consisting of them. Thus began the history of the study of plant cells. Further work on them was transferred to another member of the Royal Society, Nehemiah Grew, who was more passionate about biology than Robert Hooke. The history of the discovery of cells was developed thanks to his efforts. Consistent and attentive, he devoted his entire life to the study of plants and largely influenced the further course of science in this field. His main treatise on the topic was "Anatomy of plants with a presentation of the philosophical history of the plant world and several other reports read before the Royal Society." In the meantime, the physicist Robert Hooke has already started other experiments.

Further activities

Robert Hooke, whose biography has already been replenished with the publication of "Micrography," did not stop there. He developed theories on light, gravity and matter structure, invented a computer for complex arithmetic operations and perfected a device that allows studying the magnetic field of the Earth. In some of his views, the scientist was too harsh.
For example, in 1674 he had a dispute with Gevely, related to the peculiarities of using microscopes. In the second half of the 1670s, works were written on the theory of elasticity, which became the soil for the famous law of Hooke. He said that the increase in length relative to the original is proportional to the magnitude of the elongating force, inversely proportional to the size of the section of the object and is associated with the material from which it is made.

Communicating with Newton

In 1672, Isaac Newton became a member of the Royal Society, which for a long time consisted of Robert Hooke. The history of the discovery of cells and other his experiments strengthened the authority of the physicist in the eyes of others, but with Newton his communication was tense for many years. Their scientific disputes concerned both particular issues, for example, the shape of the curve that the falling body describes, and the fundamental concepts, including the nature of light. Newton believed that light consists of a stream of special particles, which he called light corpuscles. Robert Hooke, whose biography at that time included works on the wave nature of light, assumed that it consists of vibrational motions of a transparent medium. So there was a discussion between corpuscular and wave theory. The dispute was so tense that Newton decided not to write about optics until Hook's death.

Plagiarism or simultaneous discovery?

In 1686, another discussion arose between Newton and Hooke, this time connected with the law of universal gravitation. Apparently, Hooke himself came to understand the proportional relationship between the force of attraction and the square of the distance between the bodies, which allowed him to blame the author of "Elements" for plagiarism. On this subject, a physicist wrote a letter to the Royal Society. Nevertheless, Newton described this issue in more detail, correctly defined the law of interaction and formulated the most important laws of mechanics. On their basis, he explained the motion of the planets, ebbs and tides, made many other important discoveries. Hooke was too overloaded with work to carefully deal with this particular sphere. However, one can not fail to note his deep interest in the problem of gravitation and a series of experiments devoted to it, which was held since 1671.

Sunset activity

In the last years of his life, Robert Hooke, whose biography is full of important discoveries in many spheres, was as active as ever. He studied the device of muscles, trying to create their mechanical models, received a doctorate in medicine, was interested in amber, gave lectures, including the causes of earthquakes. Thus, the sphere of interests of the scientist only expanded over the years, and so, at the same time, the workload increased. After a terrible fire, much of London was destroyed. The restoration of the city was led by Christopher Wren, an outstanding English architect and close friend of Hooke. Helping him, Guk worked hard for about four years, strikingly paying attention and scientific activity, and leaving only a couple of hours for sleep and rest.

Contribution to the restoration of London

Robert Hooke had a crucial role. Together with Christopher Wren, he rescheduled the area around the London Stock Exchange. With the assistance of Hugh May and Roger Pratt, he made a significant contribution to the architecture of London. Among other things, Guk and Ren was created a project of a monument to the victims of a terrible fire. A thorough project was developed, and in 1677 the world saw an impressive Doric column, the creation of which was used Portland stone. The top was crowned with a gilded sphere with tongues of fire. Initially, Christopher Wren wanted to portray Charles II there, to which he objected that he had not taken part in the occurrence of the fire. The height of the monument is 61 meters and 57 centimeters, exactly from the column to the place where the fire began. Hooke planned to use the monument as a scientific laboratory for an anti-aircraft telescope and work with a pendulum, but the vibrations created by street traffic prevented such work.

Leaving a life

Work to restore London has improved the financial situation of the scientist, but health has affected negatively. The strained regime of the day has caused illnesses and severe deterioration of vision. The last invention of the great scientist was the marine barometer. About him the Royal Society learned in February 1701 from the lips of Edmond Halley, who was a close friend of Hooke. The physicist, biologist and naturalist Robert Hooke died on March 3, 1703 in his apartment at Greshamovsk College. One of the most gifted people of those times, he was undeservedly forgotten with the course of years.

Causes of forgetfulness

Hooke's writings on the themes of the nature of light and the laws of gravitation served as the basis for Isaac Newton's works, but the serious disagreements between the two scientists worsened their relationship. A kind of confrontation has begun. Thus, from his "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" Newton removed all references to the works of Hooke. In addition, he tried to belittle his contribution to science. Becoming president of the Royal Society, Newton stopped using the numerous tools Hooke created by him manually, consigned to oblivion of his work and removed his portrait. The glory of the most talented physicist faded. Nevertheless, it is about him that Newton's famous words are written. In one of his letters he says that he saw further only because he stood on the shoulders of the giants. And indeed, Robert Hook deserves this name, because he was the greatest scientist, inventor, natural scientist, astronomer and architect of his time.

Interesting facts about the scientist

Doctors and relatives of Hooke feared that he would die in infancy. Some assured him that he would not live to be twenty years old. Nevertheless, the physicist lived 68 years, which by the standards of the seventeenth century can be called a very long period. The name "cell", which he proposed for the elementary units of a living organism, is due to the fact that Huku such particles resembled monks' cells. One of the experiments related to breathing, almost ended for the learned man deplorably. He put himself in a special sealed device, from which the air was pumped, and as a result, partially lost his hearing. In addition to the monument built in collaboration with Wren, Hooke's projects created such buildings as the Greenwich Observatory and St. Paul's Cathedral. You can see these works of the great physicist even now.