1636
Move to Leiden
Descartes moves to Leiden while arranging publication of the Discourse on the Method.
Historical place archive
Browse historical events and people recorded at Leiden in France. The records below are rendered directly from the World History Database into this page's initial HTML.
Descartes moves to Leiden while arranging publication of the Discourse on the Method.
Establishes analytic geometry through coordinates and symbolic algebra.
Publishes a method connecting algebraic equations with geometric curves.
Descartes connects algebra and geometry in ways that strongly influence later mathematical analysis.
Descartes presents thought itself as evidence of the thinker's existence.
Descartes publishes the Discourse on the Method in French with three accompanying scientific essays.
Descartes gives a mathematical treatment of refraction in his published work on optics.
The Discourse presents disciplined doubt as a means of seeking secure foundations for knowledge.
The Dioptrics presents Descartes's account of light, vision, lenses and refraction.
The Geometry demonstrates how algebraic equations can be used to solve geometrical problems.
The Meteorology applies mechanical explanations to rainbows, clouds, winds and other atmospheric phenomena.
Descartes returns to Leiden to supervise preparation of the Meditations for publication.
Provenance
These entries are generated from stored World History Database records whose country and place fields match France and Leiden. Names, dates, event labels and descriptions are reviewed and normalised as the database develops. Historical place names may not match modern administrative boundaries.
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