Hooke's drawing of a flea

Micrographia is a historical book by Robert Hooke, detailing the then twenty-eight year-old Hooke's observations through various lenses. Published September, 1664, it was an immediate best-seller. Hooke most famously describes a fly's eye and a plant cell (where he coined that term because plant cells, which are walled, reminded him of monks' chambers). Known for its spectacular copperplate engravings of the miniature world, particularly its fold-out plates of insects, the text itself reinforces the tremendous power of the new microscope. The plates of insects fold out to be larger than the large folio itself, the engraving of the louse in particular folding out to four times the size of the book. Although the book is most known for foregrounding the power of the microscope, Micrographia also describes distant planetary bodies, the wave theory of light, and various other philosophical and scientific interests of its author. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1195x881, 1123 KB)Engraving of a flea from Robert Hookes 1665 Micrographia, funded by the Royal Society. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1195x881, 1123 KB)Engraving of a flea from Robert Hookes 1665 Micrographia, funded by the Royal Society. ... Robert Hooke, FRS (July 18, 1635 – March 3, 1703) was an English polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work. ... Families Tungidae â€“ sticktight and chigoe fleas (chiggers) Pulicidae â€“ common fleas Coptopsyllidae Vermipsyllidae â€“ carnivore fleas Rhopalopsyllidae â€“ marsupial fleas Hypsophthalmidae Stephanocircidae Pygiopsyllidae Hystrichopsyllidae â€“ rat and mouse fleas Leptopsyllidae â€“ bird and rabbit fleas Ischnopsyllidae â€“ bat fleas Ceratophyllidae Amphipsyllidae Malacopsyllidae Dolichopsyllidae â€“ rodent fleas Ctenopsyllidae Flea is the common name for any of the small... Robert Hooke, FRS (July 18, 1635 – March 3, 1703) was an English polymath who played an important role in the scientific revolution, through both experimental and theoretical work. ... A lens. ... Events March 12 - New Jersey becomes a colony of England. ... Suborders Nematocera Brachycera Dance fly male Empis tesselata The flesh fly, Sarcophaga carnaria Close-up of the head of a blow-fly. ... Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green). ... Classes & Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrate animals of the Class Insecta, the largest and (on land) most widely-distributed taxon within the phylum Arthropoda. ... A microscope (Greek: micron = small and scopos = aim) is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. ... The size of a specific book is measured from the head to tail of the spine, and from edge to edge across the covers. ... Suborders Anoplura(sucking lice) Rhyncophthirina Ischnocera(avian lice) Amblycera(chewing lice) Lice (singular: louse) (order Phthiraptera) are an order of over 3,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. ... The eight planets and three dwarf planets of the Solar System. ... In physics, wave-particle duality holds that light and matter simultaneously exhibit properties of waves and of particles (or photons). ...

Published under the aegis of The Royal Society, the popularity of the book helped further the society's image and mission of being "the" scientifically progressive organization of London. Micrographia also focused attention on the miniature world, capturing the public's imagination in a radically new way. This impact is illustrated by Samuel Pepys' reaction upon completing the tome: "the most ingenious book that I ever read in my life." The Royal Society of London is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence and was founded in 1660. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom(coming from Roman Londinium ). An important settlement for around two millennia, London is today one of the worlds most important business and financial centres, [1] and its involvement in politics, culture, education, entertainment, media, fashion, sport and... Portrait of Samuel Pepys by John Hayls. ...

Bibliography

Hooke's microscope, from an engraving in Micrographia.

• Robert Hooke. "Micrographia: or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses". London: J. Martyn and J. Allestry, 1665. (first edition).