Micrographia
First scientific best-seller, introducing microscopy to the public.
Micrographia is a book by Robert Hooke detailing his observations through various lenses. Published in January 1665, it was the first major publication of the Royal Society and the first book to include illustrations of insects and plants as seen through microscopes. It originated the biological term 'cell' and became the first scientific best-seller, inspiring widespread interest in microscopy.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Robert Hooke
- Country
- Great Britain
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Microscopy
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Released
- January 1665
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Samuel Pepys called Micrographia 'the most ingenious book that ever I read in my life'.
- The book's popularity helped further the Royal Society's image as England's leading scientific organization.
Observations
Hooke most famously described a fly's eye and a plant cell, coining the term 'cell' because plant cells reminded him of monastery cells. The book is known for its spectacular copperplate engravings, particularly fold-out plates of insects larger than the folio itself; the engraving of the louse folds out to four times the book's size. Micrographia also discusses distant planetary bodies, the wave theory of light, and the organic origin of fossils. Hooke examined human-made objects such as a honed razor's edge and a needle point, which appeared blunt under the microscope, possibly to contrast flawed human products with the perfection of nature and biblical creation.
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