1702 in science
The year 1702 in science and technology involved some significant events.
Astronomy
- April 20 – Comet of 1702 : The 10th-closest comet approach in history, it missed Earth by a distance of 0.0437 AU.
- May 5 – Globular cluster Messier 5 is discovered by Gottfried Kirch and his wife Maria Margarethe.
- David Gregory publishes the first textbook, Astronomiae physicae et geometricae elementa, the first astronomy textbook based on Isaac Newton's principles of motions and theory of gravitation.
Technology
- A fountain pen is developed by French instrument-maker Nicholas Bion.
- Pierre Varignon applies calculus to spring-driven clocks.
Births
- November 5 – Edward Stone, English polymath
- Undated
- * Giuseppa Barbapiccola, Italian natural philosopher, poet and translator
- * Benjamin Stillingfleet, English botanist
Deaths
- April – Clopton Havers, English physician who did pioneering research on the microstructure of bone
- December 12 – Olof Rudbeck, Swedish physiologist who discovered that the thoracic duct is connected to the intestinal lymphatics