Physical Science
c. 965-c. 1040 - Persian philosopher Alhazen makes fundamental contributions to physics, mathematics, medicine, and particularly the study of optics.
c. 1595 - Dutch optician Zacharias Janssen and his father Hans Janssen produce the first compound microscope (one that consists of more than one lens).
c. 1608 - Dutch optician Hans Lippershey patents a type of refracting telescope (one that uses a lens, not mirrors).
c. 1609 - Galileo Galilei builds a practical telescope and
makes new astronomical discoveries.
c. 1674 - Dutch microscopist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek is the first to observe red blood cells and microorganisms.
c. 1678 - English inventor and architect, Robert Hooke, establishes the relationship between tension and stretch (law of elasticity), now called Hooke's Law.
