Robert Hooke

Timeline

1. 1635–1666Oxford · OxfordshireHooke was born on the Isle of Wight and later worked in Oxford as Robert Boyle's experimental assistant, improving air pump devices and conducting experiments on elasticity and gases. In 1665 he published Micrographia, revealing the microscopic structures of insects and plants with exquisite illustrations, establishing a research paradigm that combined experimental observation with illustrated communication.
2. 1666–1680London · LondonAfter the Great Fire of 1666, Hooke became Curator of Experiments for the Royal Society, presiding over weekly experimental demonstrations and participating in the planning of London's reconstruction. In the 1670s he offered original insights on optics, gravity, and comet orbits; in 1672 he engaged in a public debate with Newton over the nature of light, while his results such as Hooke's law influenced the later development of mechanics.