17th Century Timeline, 1600 Through 1699

Major changes in the fields of philosophy and science took place  during the 17th century. Prior to the beginning of the 1600s, scientific study  and scientists in the field were not truly recognized. In fact, important figures and pioneers such as the 17th-century physicist  Isaac Newton were initially called natural philosophers because there was no such thing as the word scientist throughout most of the 17th century. But it was during this period that the emergence of newly-invented machines became part of the daily and economic lives of many people. While people studied and relied upon the more or less unproven principles of  medieval alchemy, it was during the 17th century that a transition to the science of chemistry took place. Another important development during this time was the evolution  from astrology to astronomy.   So by the end of the 17th century, the scientific revolution had taken hold and this new field of study had established itself as the leading society-shaping force that encompassed mathematical, mechanical, and  empirical bodies of knowledge. Notable scientists of this  era include the astronomer  Galileo Galilei, philosopher Renà © Descartes, inventor and mathematician  Blaise Pascal,  and  Isaac Newton. Here is a brief  historical list of the greatest technology, science, and invention hits of the 17th century. 1608 German-Dutch spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey invents the first refracting telescope. 1620 Dutch builder Cornelis Drebbel invents the earliest human-powered submarine. 1624 English mathematician William Oughtred invents the  slide rule. 1625 French physician Jean-Baptiste Denys invents a method for blood transfusion. 1629 Italian engineer and architect Giovanni Branca invents a steam turbine. 1636 English astronomer and mathematician W. Gascoigne invents the micrometer. 1642 French mathematician  Blaise Pascal invents the adding machine. 1643 Italian mathematician and physicist Evangelista Torricelli invents the barometer. 1650 Scientist and inventor  Otto von Guericke invents an air pump. 1656 Dutch mathematician and scientist  Christian Huygens  invents a pendulum clock. 1660 Cuckoo clocks were made in Furtwangen, Germany, in the Black Forest region. 1663 Mathematician and astronomer James Gregory invents the first reflecting telescope. 1668 Mathematician and physicist  Isaac Newton  invents a reflecting telescope. 1670 The first reference to a  candy cane  is made. French Benedictine monk Dom Pà ©rignon invents  Champagne. 1671 German mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz invents the calculating machine. 1674 Dutch Microbiologist  Anton Van Leeuwenhoek  was the first to see and describe bacteria with a microscope. 1675 Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and  physicist  Christian Huygens  patents the pocket watch. 1676 English architect and  natural philosopher  Robert Hooke  invents the universal joint. 1679 French physicist, mathematician, and inventor Denis Papin ​invents the pressure cooker. 1698 English inventor and engineer  Thomas Savery  invents a steam pump.