Francis Hauksbee, the Younger

English scientist

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Born:: 1687

Died:: Jan. 11, 1763 (aged 76)

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Francis Hauksbee, the Younger (born 1687—died Jan. 11, 1763) was an English instrument maker, scientist, and lecturer. He was the nephew of Francis Hauksbee the Elder.

As early as about 1714 Hauksbee began giving lectures, with demonstration experiments. By 1723 he had secured a sufficient reputation to be elected clerk and housekeeper to the Royal Society, Britain’s major scientific society. Meanwhile he had established a manufactory in Fleet Street, where he made and sold air pumps, hydrostatic balances, and reflecting telescopes. Over the years he authored or coauthored a number of treatises dealing with such subjects as laboratory methods, chemistry, astronomical instruments, electricity, and pneumatics.

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