In a time of the greatest scientific progress, against a backdrop of Great Plagues, Great Fires, and Cromwell’s witch hunt, lives Robert Hooke – practically the greatest forgotten visionary of all time. Today, he is mostly not remembered due to his rivalry with Newton, but it can be shown that even the beginnings of Newton’s work on gravitation and optics can be attributed to the multitalented Robert Hooke. In fact most of the descriptions which survive today of this man who may have earned the jealous disapprovals of many of his colleagues is negative, but he is not so well known for a myriad of reasons.

First of all, it is the nature of Robert Hooke to freely share ideas. He is a well known correspondent to many great scientists and this is not without some skill in tact for arbitrating arguments. He worked for most of his life in the background as a curator, demonstrating experiments and making his own equipment for the other well known men of position. Partly because he is so busy and because of his many interests, most of his ideas fell by the wayside unless he could find a way to patent it for profit, therefore many others have taken advantage of Hooke’s proclivity without giving him so much as a credit.

Secondly, it is hard to name more than a few of his inventions simply because he is a well connected man and perhaps the beginnings of most of the inventions during the era can well be attributed to him. The closest match to such greatness could be attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, who also is as interested and equally skilled in whatever field he may encounter. Robert Hooke has indeed been able to contribute to Medicine, Microscopy, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Horology, Biology, Astrology, Paleontology, Zoology, Meteorology, Geology, Nautical Science, Natural Philosophy, Architecture, and far too many more to list here.

Among his major inventions were many improvements on existing technologies plus many experimental gadgets which have long been forgotten because it has been surreptitiously stricken from the records. Some of his improvements range from more accurate model of the eye with iris to the iris’ subsequent use in the microscope, to telescopes and timepieces, to the universal joints useful in cars. He also experimented on respirators, weather forecasting, flying machines, and circumnavigators to help find the longtitude.

Hooke has been the avid enthusiast until the end. As an architect, he planned to redesign the entire London according to a grid pattern still used today in many modern cities. He is even known to be the first person to give the name of “cell” to the smallest unit of life after what he conceived as its apparent likeness to monastery cells. He is also partly founder of the Royal Society as he knew most of the members. Based on his findings, he is an early supporter of evolution and the wave theory of light as well. Sometimes he even uses himself as a test subject for his experiments - to his lifelong detriment.

Even as a child Robert Hooke is no stranger to the facts of life. His mother gave birth to him in Freshwater, Isle of Wight on the 18^th of July 1635. He intended to become a clergy like his father but had to pass due to his sickly constitution from having survived smallpox so he is preoccupied in creating toy machines. At 13, his father committed suicide and he was left on his own to figure out his own apprenticeship. He applied for several positions and within a weeks time he had gained mastery over some ancient languages, formulated several ways of flying, learnt to play the organ, and understood the first 6 books of Euclid’s the Elements.

Today, not even a single picture of him can be found, but such a man of his caliber, who has influenced so many people of his day, can never be truly erased from the pages of history. He is mostly given honor in physics for Hooke’s Law which states that there’s a linear relationship between stress and strain. Even as an assistant, he has worked diligently under Boyle who coincidentally published similar laws on pressure. Since he was well disposed towards Boyle this unmentionable does not matter so much to him.

From his correspondences with the then more influential Isaac Newton it can be seen that it is because of Robert Hooke’s inspiration that Newton came up with the right equations regarding gravity and optics. Newton soon became president of the Royal Society after Hooke’s death in the 3^rd of March 1703, after that most traces of Hooke’s presence soon disappeared. So regardless of possible sabotage, though there are many other great scientists, few are as unerasable as late 17^th century virtuoso - Robert Hooke.

References:

The Father of Modern Science and an ‘unsung’ hero. http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artmar00/hooke1.html

Robert Hooke. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hooke

Robert Hooke. http://home.clara.net/rod.beavon/robert_hooke.htm

Robert Hooke. http://www.roberthooke.com/

Robert Hooke. http://www.roberthooke.com/

Robert Hooke. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/hooke.html