1754 in science

The year 1754 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Astronomy

• Immanuel Kant, German philosopher, postulates retardation of Earth's orbit.

Chemistry

• Joseph Black, Scottish chemist, discovers carbonic acid gas.

Earth sciences

• Albert Brahms, Frisian Dijkgraaf, begins publication of Anfangsgründe der Deich und Wasser-Baukunst ("Principles of Dike and Aquatic Engineering") advocating scientific recording of tides.^[1]

Mathematics

• Joshua Kirby publishes the pamphlet Dr. Brook Taylor's Method of Perspective made Easy both in Theory and Practice containing William Hogarth's Satire on False Perspective.
• Lagrange begins to work on the problem of tautochrone.

Physics

• Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech theologian and natural scientist in the fields of applied electricity, develops a weather-machine. The same year, an electrical conductor devised by him is installed at the Vienna General Hospital.

Awards

• Copley Medal: William Lewis^[2]

Births

• March 4 – Benjamin Waterhouse, American physician (died 1846)
• March 15 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon and botanist (died 1842)
• March 23 – Jurij Vega, Slovene mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (died 1802)
• May 6 – Thomas Coke, English agriculturalist and geneticist (died 1842)
• June 4 – Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach, German astronomer (died 1832)
• August 21 – William Murdoch, Scottish engineer and inventor (died 1839)
• September 26 – Joseph Proust, French chemist (died 1826)

Deaths

• February 5 – Nicolaas Kruik (Cruquius), Dutch cartographer and meteorologist (born 1678)
• February 16 – Richard Mead, English physician (born 1673)
• April 9 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher, mathematician and scientist (born 1679)
• April 15 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician (born 1676)
• November 27 – Abraham de Moivre, French mathematician (born 1667)