1717 in science
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The year 1717 in science and technology involved few significant events.
Biology
- Thomas Fairchild, a nurseryman at Hoxton in the East End of London, becomes the first person to produce a successful scientific plant hybrid, Dianthus Caryophyllus barbatus, known as "Fairchild's Mule" because it is infertile.{{cite web|author=((The Gentle Author)) |title=Thomas Fairchild, Gardener of Hoxton|url=http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/07/02/thomas-fairchild-gardener-of-hoxton/|work=Spitalfields Life|date=2011-07-02|access-date=2015-11-16}}
- James Petiver publishes Papilionum Brittaniae Icones, the first book devoted exclusively to British butterflies, giving English names to a number of species.{{cite book|pages=103–105|title=The Aurelian Legacy: British butterflies and their collectors|first=Michael A.|last=Salmon|year=2000|location=Colchester|publisher=Basil Harley|isbn=0-946589-40-2}}
Births
- June 5 – Emanuel Mendes da Costa, English botanist (died 1791)
- June 28 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician (died 1785)
- September 11 – Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (died 1783)
- November 16 – Jean le Rond d'Alembert, French mathematician (died 1783)
- Pierre Le Roy, French clockmaker (died 1785)
- Wilhelm Friedrich von Gleichen, German microscopist (died 1783)
Deaths
- January 13 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German-born naturalist (born 1647){{cite web|title=Maria Sibylla Merian – Life, Facts, & Works|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maria-Sibylla-Merian|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=4 April 2018|language=en}}
- March 8 – Abraham Darby I, English ironmaster (born 1678)