1654 in science
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The year 1654 in science and technology involved some significant events.
Astronomy
- Sicilian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna publishes De systemate orbis cometici, deque admirandis coeli characteribus including a catalog of comets and nebulae.
Mathematics
- At the prompting of the Chevalier de Méré, Blaise Pascal corresponds with Pierre de Fermat on gambling problems, from which is born the theory of probability.{{cite book|first=Tony|last=Crilly|title=50 Mathematical Ideas you really need to know|location=London|publisher=Quercus|year=2007|isbn=978-1-84724-008-8|page=132}}
Physics
- May 8 – Otto von Guericke demonstrates the effectiveness of his vacuum pump and the power of atmospheric pressure using the Magdeburg hemispheres before Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, in Regensburg.{{cite encyclopedia|title=Von Guericke, Otto|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|edition=11th|volume=9|page=670|publisher=The Encyclopædia Britannica Co|year=1910|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GFAEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA670&}}
Births
- December 27 – Jakob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (died 1705).
- John Banister, English missionary and botanist (died 1692).
- prob. date – Eleanor Glanville, English entomologist (died 1709).
Deaths
- August 31 – Ole Worm, Danish physician, natural historian and antiquary (born 1588)
- October 18 – Nicholas Culpeper, English herbalist (born 1616)
- Giovanni de Galliano Pieroni, Italian military engineer and astronomer (born 1586)