Hooke, Robert

Hooke, Robert (1635-1703), English scientist, best known for his study of elasticity. Hooke also made original contributions to many other fields of science.

Hooke was born on the Isle of Wight and educated at the University of Oxford. He served as assistant to the physicist Robert Boyle, and helped Boyle in the construction of the air pump. In 1662 Hooke was appointed curator of experiments of the Royal Society and served in this position until his death. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1663 and was appointed Gresham Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford in 1665. After the Great Fire of London in 1666, he was appointed surveyor of London, and he designed many buildings, including Montague House and Bethlehem Hospital.

Hooke anticipated some of the most important discoveries and inventions of his time but failed to carry many of them through to completion. He formulated the theory of planetary motion as a problem in mechanics, and grasped, but did not develop mathematically, the fundamental theory on which Sir Isaac Newton formulated the law of gravitation. Hooke's most important contributions include the correct formulation of the theory of elasticity, which states that an elastic body stretches in proportion to the force that acts upon it; and analysis of the nature of combustion. He was the first to use the balance spring for the regulation of watches, and he devised improvements in pendulum clocks. Hooke also pioneered in microscopic research and published his observations, which included the discovery of plant cells.