1666

Events in 1666 3

• 1582 – 1666 Frans Hals Dutch Golden Age · Netherlands Frans Hals (c. 1582 – August 26, 1666) was a Dutch portrait painter celebrated for his loose, spontaneous brushwork and ability to capture fleeting expressions. His Laughing Cavalier is one of the most popular portraits in the world.
• 1666 Great Fire of London Major fire destroys London A devastating fire destroyed much of central London during Charles II’s reign.
• 1666 – 1687 Newton — gravity, light and calculus Principia Mathematica: the laws governing the universe Between 1666 and 1687, Isaac Newton formulated the law of universal gravitation, the three laws of motion, the corpuscular theory of light (showing white light is a spectrum of colours), and co-invented calculus (independently of Leibniz). His Principia Mathematica (1687) unified terrestrial and celestial mechanics, explaining both falling apples and planetary orbits with a single mathematical framework. It is the most influential scientific book ever written.