sGravesende
NAME: 'sGravesande, Willem Jacob
ACHIEVEMENT(S): The earliest influential exponent of Newtonian philosophy in continental Europe
NICKNAME/ALIAS: None
DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: September 26, 1688, ’sHertogenbosch, Netherlands
DATE/PLACE OF DEATH/AGE AT DEATH: February 28, 1742, Leyden, Netherlands. Aged 53
DISCIPLINE: Physicist/Mathematician
FIELD: Physics/Mathematics/Philosophy
LANGUAGE: Dutch
PARENTS: Unknown
SIBLINGS: Unknown
SPOUSE: Unknown
CHILDREN: Unknown
EDUCATION: Private tutor; Leyden University
MAJOR WORK: "Mathematical Elements of Physics"
LIFE AND TIMES:
In his 20s, 'sGravesande practiced law at The Hague, where <knew> Fahrenheit* was working on his alcohol and mercury thermometers and developing his temperature scale.
With Prosper Marchand and others, 'sGravesande founded the "Journal litteratire de la Haye" (1713), a periodical which lasted 20 years.
'sGravesande's most notable contribution to the journal was an essay in 1722: "A new theory on the collision of falling bodies based on experiment" in which he adopted the <influenced by> Christiaan Huyghens* - <influenced by> Leibniz* concept of "vis viva," and stating that "the force of a body is proportional to its mass multiplied by the square of its speed."
Around this time, s'Gravesande also took an interest in <studied work of> Arbuthnot's* work on mathematical statistics.
In early 1715, 'sGravesande was appointed secretary to the Dutch embassy and remained in England a year. He frequented English artistic and scientific circles and attended a demonstration of experiments by <watched experiments by> Desaguliers*. He was elected to the <member of> Royal Society* in June, 1715, where he met <met> Newton*. Back in The Hague in 1716, he was appointed professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Leyden. His inaugural lecture was on the usefulness of mathematics to all the sciences, and particularly physics.
In 1720, 'sGravesande published his famous work, "Mathematical Elements of Physics, an explanation of Newtonian science,” emphasizing the rules of reasoning, the theory of gravitational attraction and its applications in celestial mechanics, the theory of matter, and the theory of light. He also published an abbreviated account for students, "Philosophiae Newtonianae institutiones".
Although s'Gravesande was not the first to popularize Newtonian science and the experimental method, "Mathematical Elements of Physics" was more extensive, better argued, and more philosophical than most other efforts to that time. s'Gravesande actually contributed nothing to the progress of mathematical physics, but he perfected the method of justifying scientific truths either by self-evidence or by experimental proof. Many instruments he designed to carry out experiments were built by instrument-maker Jan van Musschenbroek, brother of <colleague was> Petrus van Musschenbroek* (who joined 'sGravesande at Leyden in 1739.)
During the 1720s, in Leyden, 'sGravesande edited and published "Opera varia" (1724) and "Opera reliqua" of Christiaan Huygens, and later edited Newton's "Arithmetica universalis" (1732).
In 1727, he published a mathematical textbook "Matheseos universalis elementa", which was translated from the Latin into Dutch in 1728 and into English in 1752. After being named professor of philosophy in 1734, he wrote a philosophy textbook, "Introductio ad philosophiam, metaphysicam et logicam continens".
By the end of the 1730s 'sGravesande was an internationally-renowned scientist, attracting hundreds of foreign students to Leyden each year. In 1736, <visited by> Voltaire* made a special trip to Leyden to talk to him about a book he was writing, "Elements of the Philosophy of Newton" (published in London in 1738). Afterwards, Voltaire wrote glowingly of 'sGravesande's erudition and hospitality.
ASSESSMENT: Gained an international reputation for promulgating Newtonian thought throughout continental Europe.
EXTRA CONNECTIONS: Knew the ballooning <knew> Montgolfier* brothers.
Met experimenter <met> Nollet*
ONELINER: Willem 'sGravesande, early expounder of Newton’s theories
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
DSB