Francis Hauksbee the Younger facts for kids

Francis Hauksbee the Younger (born 1687 – died 11 January 1763) was a clever English inventor and scientist. He was known for making scientific tools and for showing exciting experiments to people.

Life

Early Life and Royal Society Role

Francis Hauksbee the Younger was born in 1687. His father, John Hauksbee, was part of a group called the Drapers' Company. Francis was also the nephew of another famous scientist named Francis Hauksbee the elder.

In 1723, Francis Hauksbee the Younger got an important job. He became the clerk and housekeeper for the Royal Society. This was a very important group of scientists in London. Some people believe he was the first person to give public lectures in London that included live science experiments, starting around 1714. He often worked with another scientist, William Whiston, to put on these shows.

Francis Hauksbee the Younger passed away on January 11, 1763, when he was 75 years old.

Instrument Maker

Building Scientific Tools

Francis Hauksbee was a skilled instrument maker. This means he built special tools for scientists to use in their experiments. He had a shop in London where he made and sold these tools.

Some of the cool instruments he created included:

• Air-pumps: These machines could remove air from a container, creating a vacuum.
• Hydrostatic balances: These were used to measure the weight of objects in water, helping to understand how things float or sink.
• Reflecting telescopes: These special telescopes used mirrors to help people see distant objects, like stars and planets, more clearly.

His ideas for making a large reflecting telescope showed how talented he was at building these complex tools. He also knew another important instrument maker named John Hadley.

Works

Sharing Scientific Knowledge

Francis Hauksbee the Younger also wrote books and created courses to share scientific knowledge.

In 1731, he helped publish a book called Essay for introducing a Portable Laboratory. This book, written with P. Shaw, was about how to do chemistry experiments easily using a small, portable lab. It was dedicated to a famous collector and doctor, Sir Hans Sloane.

In the same year, Hauksbee printed Experiments with a view to Practical Philosophy, Arts, Trades, and Business. This book summarized common chemistry experiments and included pictures of things like distillation (separating liquids), mineralogy (studying minerals), metallurgy (working with metals), and dyeing (coloring fabrics).

This publication was actually a guide for his experimental lectures. He gave a course called Experimental Course of Astronomy proposed by Mr. Whiston and Mr. Hauksbee, which taught about space and stars through experiments. He also had a course called Course of Mechanical, Optical, and Pneumatical Experiments. This course, given with William Whiston, covered "Pneumatics," which is the study of gases and air. It included experiments about the qualities of air, glowing materials, and the electricity of different objects.