Robert Hooke

Born on the Isle of Wight in 1635, Robert Hooke was a sickly child who was diagnosed with small pox when he was very young, doctors did not expect him to live past his toddler years. His constant sickness forced him to stay inside and because of this he could not go to school. He was instead, home schooled by his father, John Hooke. In his spare time he practiced taking apart and putting together complicated mechanical objects.. By the time Robert was ten he could put together very complicated mechanical toys such as elaborate clocks. This was thought to be the beginning of his basis for his scientific career.

In 1948 Robert's father died. He went to Westminster boarding school. The headmaster noticed that Hooke was very advanced and put him in a curriculum that included Latin, Greek, and Math. Hooke went to Oxford in 1653, however he failed to complete his bachelors degree, Hooke had the opportunity to meet some of the worlds great future scientists while he was there. One of them was Robert Boyle. It was using Hooke's air pump that Boyle created his theory known as "Boyle's Law." It is assumed that Hooke helped in the theory's creation because he was a better mathematician.

Many scientist were longing for the development of the first accurate device to determine longitude around this time as well. A modified clock, was currently in use at the time. This device was unreliable however, because the pendulum was used to regulate the motion but was thrown off by the rocking of the ship. Robert Hooke used a spring in replace of the pendulum around 1660, but never ended up patenting it because he could not find any willing investors. Christina

Huygens patented his spring-driven chronometer in 1674 and this created a large dispute over who's idea the invention truly was. Both men wanted the money that came from the selling of it.

In 1666 a fire burned most down of London, he helped with the reconstruction of the city. He also helped Christopher Wren. He created many important buildings, some still stand even today.

Hooke also did many other things in his lifetime. He formulated the law of elasticity and proposed a wave theory of light. He discovered the cellular structure of cork and created the word "cell." Later in his life he created his own version of the microscope. All together he made a huge impact on today's society. He died on March 3 ,1703.