Robert Hooke

British scientist, one of the leading members of the Royal Society. Born July 18, 1635, in Freshwater, Isle of Wight; died March 3, 1703 at Gresham College, London.

At the age of 13 he briefly studied painting with Peter Lely, but had to give up because he was allergic to the paint fumes. Afterwards educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. Early experiments and collaborations with Robert Boyle. In 1662 Hooke was appointed curator of experiments at the Royal Society. He is elected Fellow of the Royal Society (FSR) in 1663. He becomes professor of Geometry at Gresham College in 1665. After the Great Fire of 1666 he was appointed as member of the Crown Commission devoted to the rebuilding of London, together with Christopher Wren, Hugh May and Roger Pratt. Amongst other buildings, Hooke is responsible for redesigning Bethlem (or Bedlam) Hospital. In 1677, he replaced Henry Oldenburg as the Secretary of the Royal Society (he resigned from the post in 1682).

As scientist, Hooke worked in the fields of astronomy, mechanics and optics. Nowadays, he is associated with Hooke's Law, the law of elasticity, “which states the stretching of a solid body (e.g., metal, wood) is proportional to the force applied to it" (Encyclopædia Britannica). In September of 1664 he discovers the fifth star in the Orion trapezium. Around 1665 he publishes Micrographia, a seminal work on the microscope. He quarrels with several fellow scientists, among them Isaac Newton. Hooke accused Newton of having plagiarised from Micrographia and Newton has to admit that he had "used Hooke's research as an inspiration for his own" ([1]). Hooke perfectly followed the Royal Society's focus on the "improvement of all usefull Sciences and Arts". His invention of the spiral spring improved the mechanism of watches. He also improved the telescope. And he sets the "thermometrical zero at the freezing point of water" ([2]). His research on fossils paved the way for later scientists working on evolution theory.

Sources

http://www.roberthooke.com
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/hooke.html
The New Encyclopædia Britannica,in 32 vol.[1974], Encyclopædia Britannica
Arnold-Baker, Charles. The Companion to British History. London: Longcross Press, 1996.