Edmond Halley was born on 8 November 1656 in Haggerston. An English astronomer and mathematician, Halley is best known for his study of the comet that bears his name. By examining historical records, he concluded that the comets seen in 1531, 1607 and 1682 were the same body, and correctly predicted its return in 1758, which was confirmed after his death. He also catalogued the stars of the southern sky from the island of St Helena, published an early map of winds and a table of life expectancy, and paid for the publication of Newton's Principia, encouraging his friend to complete it. He later became Astronomer Royal.
Before and after
- 1656Las Meninas
- 1656Construction of Jama Masjid, Delhi
- 1656Pendulum clock
- from 28 July 1656 to 30 July 1656Battle of Warsaw
- 8 November 1656Birth of Edmond Halley
- 1657Founding of Marlborough
- from 1658 to 1660Carib Expulsion
- 28 February 1658Treaty of Roskilde
- 14 June 1658Battle of the Dunes
More in Science & technology
- 1543De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
- 27 December 1571Birth of Johannes Kepler
- 1637Descartes publishes La Geometrie: algebra meets geometry
- 8 January 1642Death of Galileo Galilei
- 21 June 1646Birth of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- 1755Discovery of magnesium
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.